HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/11/2012 Regular Council Meetingr
COUNCIL MEETING
April 11, 2012
The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kauai was called to
order by the Council Chair at the Council Chambers, Historic County Building,
4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kauai, on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at
9:45 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 (present at 9:46 a.m.)
Honorable Mel Rapozo
Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura
Honorable Jay Furfaro, Council Chair
APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
Mr. Rapozo moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by
Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Furfaro: I just want to share with everyone my plan is to
take the Police Department first; that is on page 3, item C 2012 -109. I will go to the
Complete Streets second; it is on page 7. And then I will go to the item with the
Prosecutor's Office third.
MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council:
Special Council Meeting of February 14, 2012
Council Meeting of February 29, 2012
Public Hearing of March 28, 2012 re: Resolution No. 2012 -22 and Resolution
No. 2012 -23
Mr. Chang moved for approval of the minutes as circulated, seconded by
Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
Council Chair Furfaro: I have a Councilmember who has asked that we
revisit and not include in the Consent Calendar item C 2012 -104, for which we have
some specific questions for the County Treasurer's last statement dated
February 10, 2012. So all other items I would like to see if there is anyone that
would like to testify on a Consent item.
C 2012 -102 Communication (03/8/2012) from the Director of Finance,
transmitting for Council information, the Period 7 Financial Reports — Statement of
Revenues as of January 31, 2012 for Fiscal Year 2012, pursuant to Section 21 of the
Operating Budget Ordinance (B- 2011 -732), County of Kauai: Mr. Rapozo moved to
receive C 2012 -102 for the record, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously
carried.
C 2012 -103 Communication (03/08/2012) from the County Engineer,
transmitting for Council consideration amendments to Chapter 12 (Kaua`i County
Building Code), Kauai County Code 1987, as amended, by adopting the 2006
w
COUNCIL MEETING - 2 - April 11, 2012
International Building Code and Residential Code, a new appendix for Hawaii
Hurricane Sheltering Provisions for New Construction, a new appendix for Hawaii
Wind Design Provisions for New Construction, and a new appendix for Hawaii
Provisions for Indigenous Hawaiian Architecture Structures: Mr. Rapozo moved to
receive C 2012 -103 for the record, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously
carried.
C 2012 -105 Communication (03/28/2012) from Council Vice Chair
Yukimura, providing written disclosure on the record of a possible conflict of
interest relating to C 2012 -100, a claim filed against the County of Kauai by David
Yukimura, and that she is recusing herself from discussing or participating in this
agenda item, because the claimant is her brother: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive
C 2012 -105 for the record, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -106 Certification (03/30/2012) of the 2012 Real Property Assessment
List of the County of Kauai by the Director of Finance: Mr. Rapozo moved to
receive C 2012 -106 for the record, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously
carried.
C 2012 -107 Communication (03/30/2012) from the Director of Finance,
transmitting for Council consideration, supplemental information pertaining to the
estimated reduction in real property tax revenues resulting from the various tax
relief measures enacted by the County Council, based on the Real Property
Assessment Certification for FY 2013 factored with the existing real property tax
rates: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -107 for the record, seconded by
Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -108 Communication (04/03/2012) from Councilmember Nakamura,
providing written disclosure on the record of a possible conflict of interest relating
to the budget for the Office of Boards and Commissions, because her spouse's firm is
contracted to provide legal services for that office, and she is recusing herself from
participating in discussions related to the Mayor's budget submittal for FY 12 -13 as
it relates to Boards and Commissions: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -108 for
the record, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
There being no objection, Resolution No. 2012 -26 was taken out of order.
Resolution No. 2012 -26, RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING NO- PARKING AT
ANY TIME ALONG A PORTION OF THE COUNTY ACCESS ROAD IN THE
VICINITY OF VIDINHA STADIUM SOCCER FIELDS, LIHU`E DISTRICT,
COUNTY OF KAUAI: Mr. Rapozo moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2012 -26,
seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Council Chair Furfaro: Chief, I assume that there is testimony. Are you
going to come up on this item for the Police Department? Did I make the right
assumption? Gentlemen, let me give you the floor now. I am going to step out for a
moment and ask Council Vice Chair Yukimura to handle it for a few minutes here.
Welcome, gentlemen.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
ROBERT GAUSEPOHL, Acting Police Lieutenant: Good morning, my name
is Robert Gausepohl for the record. We have a short PowerPoint presentation just
to illustrate the parking issues. This is the access road between Ho`olako and
Ka`ana Streets. We consider it a safety issue and it can create a dangerous
situation, especially if there are children walking or running on the roadway. You
COUNCIL MEETING - 3 - April 11, 2012
cannot really see it too well, but this is a view looking up the road, and you can see
the cars parked on the right side by the fence that are actually obstructing traffic in
that direction. I measured that area. It is 4 feet 6 inches from the fence to the edge
of pavement, which leaves less than 8 feet of roadway. The travel lane should be
12 feet wide. In addition there is parking directly across the street available in this
case, and as you move up the road there is more parking on that side as well. The
road bends to the right and then heads towards the bus baseyard. To travel in this
direction, you have to cross the double solid yellow line. It is illegal and dangerous,
especially if you put a bunch of kids that are trying to get to their soccer game. The
only access is that right here, either that or they are jumping the fence. It is not the
safest situation, and we are getting congestion in that area there. There is double
parking and parking in the driveway. This is a view towards the soccer field from
the bus parking lot. As you can see, even this road has people parking there. This
is taken the same day, the same time. There is ample parking available in this
area, and across the street by Vidinha Stadium, the parking lot was almost empty.
So in summary, we just want to work together with everybody to create safe roads
for people in vehicles and for pedestrians. We believe that the "No Parking" signs
would be a fair way to discourage parking in that area and should create a safer
road for everybody. That is my presentation.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Questions? Councilmember Chang.
Mr. Chang: Thank you, Vice Chair. Officer, thank you very
much for being here. Was there any dialogue between the youth soccer groups and
the Police Department prior to the decision?
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: No, not that I am aware of.
Mr. Chang: Because I know the soccer organizers and some of
the parents would have loved to be able to speak to the officers because I think
everybody agrees that the road is too narrow and in order to pass you have to do, as
you mentioned, the double line, and there was talk about maybe having the
handicapped or the elderly being able to park on the inside. There was also talk at
one point about pushing the fence further in, but I was just a little bit concerned
because the feedback that I am getting is that nobody came up to the parents or the
organizers and the officers to try to find some sort of a solution. And the feedback
that I know for sure that I am getting that there are a lot of handicapped or
kupuna, and there is only one open space in that corner. And by the way which is
obviously a bad corner, that area where it is at. So I guess the question is that
maybe somehow if we can have some sort of a dialogue with perhaps the soccer
officers, then I think that would be their request so that they can let you folks know
their concerns.
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: Sure, absolutely. We would be very open to talking
to them. There is parking right across the street. It is 24 feet away from where
they are already parking. If that needs to be designated as handicapped parking or
some kind of specialized parking, then that is an option. I was speaking to
Mr. Rapozo, he said that moving the fence line in would...
Mr. Rapozo: Lenny?
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: I am sorry, yes, Lenny. ...would impinge on some
of the fields. So it is not a situation where there is no other parking available.
There is parking available that anybody can use. What we did not want to do was
to go in and start citing people for obstructing traffic, which by the letter of the law
they actually are in violation. It is a $50 fine. We did not want to go that route.
COUNCIL MEETING - 4 - April 11, 2012
We thought the fairest, best, easiest way, even if you notify people and they see
other people parking there, somebody is going to say I was not notified. That is why
we thought the signs was the best route to take.
Mr. Chang: Okay.
ALEJANDRO QUIBILAN, Assistant Chief with the Patrol Services Bureau:
Councilmember Chang, pertaining to discussion on notification of the groups that
use the field, what we are proposing here is to address what the situation is
currently right now with a fence line that is established. We are concerned about
the roadway and the use of the roadway. We know that the soccer field is part of
the Vidinha Stadium Complex, which falls under the Parks & Recreation Agency.
So we would like for the Director to address any concerns regarding any changes to
the fence line, to the park itself, that is not our area of expertise. So with the
current situation and what we see with the safety, we understand that and we see it
during practices and on weekends and games. Whether it be soccer or flag football,
there is a lot of equipment that is being brought in, from tents to chairs, balls. The
coaches are hauling a lot of things, and as you mentioned, people with disabilities,
our kupunas or elderly people that cannot walk the distance. However, we can only
address the current situation. So if there are any plans to change the park or
engineering for the roadway, we would like to defer that to the experts on that. So
the current situation again is as Sgt. Gausepohl mentioned, is the safety. We have
the Kauai Bus that traverses the area, and in speaking with Celia Mahikoa, who is
the Director of Transportation at the Kauai Bus, she has a real big concern with
the largest bus that they travel. They cannot access that road when there are cars
parked there, and those buses will not be able to stop on a dime if a child darts out.
So again, we are only focused with the current situation and trying to make it as
safe as possible. If there are other avenues that the other agencies can work with,
then by all means we will work with them to see if anything can be changed. As far
as communication with the organizations, our plan was to ... if the resolution had
passed, it would be to draft a letter to all users going through the Parks &
Recreation Agency, identifying all of the users and send them a message so that the
parents and the staff can be notified of that situation.
Mr. Chang: I understand and I will copy you the letter. But
while we are having the discussion, would you mind, Sgt. Gausepohl, getting on
that slide when you take the left turn, not that one, not that one, not that one, that
one.
back?
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: I am sorry about the quality of the pictures.
Mr. Chang: Was there another one that was a little further
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: Yes, sir.
Mr. Chang: Okay, I think that is the telltale picture right there.
So if that is all right with the Councilmembers because at least when we are having
the discussion because if you will note right where the crosswalk is, that is where
that "drop -off' place is because that is the only opening. So maybe that can show
the viewing audience and the chamber members and our Councilmembers. I think
that is the most telltale when you mentioned Celia Mahikoa and the plight of the
bus trying to get in there. I think that is a good picture that we can see on. Vice
Chair, thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Councilmember Bynum.
COUNCIL MEETING - 5 - April 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum: I want to thank you and the Police Department for
taking initiative on this because I agree with you. It is a significant safety concern.
I am familiar with that area, so I appreciate that you are taking that initiative.
What I suggested when this was here last week, I think it is important enough to
deal with right away, and I think the Police has the authority to put up temporary
"No Parking" and that kind of thing to address it immediately. But there are other
concerns that I hope we follow up. I want to address the safety concern because it is
clear and present right now. But people who have disabilities, I have become quite
aware of that. We still have park facilities that are not in compliance with ADA,
and we all know there is plenty of parking at Vidinha, and you are right, but most
of the problem is just human factor. I want to park closer. I want it even more
convenient. Or like you said, they are moving equipment. But from Vidinha where
there are spaces available for ADA parking, there is a steep slope up to the fields,
and I believe it is safe to say those fields are not in compliance with ADA, and we
need to address that too. Hence, my suggestion of doing some temporary signage to
deal with the immediate concern, but then work out—what is the permanent
solution before we put up permanent signs and expend that. And I really commend
you for bringing this up because it clearly is a present concern. But I think we also
have to address those other users that we may not be in compliance with the
current law. So thank you very much.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Any other comments? Councilmember
Nakamura.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you for being here and taking all the visuals
because I think that gives us a really good picture of the situation and the safety
concerns that you raised. My one concern has to be with your process. I really
think that it was on the agenda, the resolution was made out, but when I talked to
Lenny and some other groups, nobody had had a conversation with the Police
Department about this. Nobody knew that this was on the agenda. So I guess I
would just ask in the future that yes, safety is important, but knowing that there
are other players involved, to do that up front before it comes to the Council. That
is just a request.
For myself, I am a user of the field because I have two kids who play soccer
and I am the one lugging the cooler, the tents, and snacks for the kids, and helping
the coaches who have to lug all this equipment as well. So it is a convenient
location. And when we have grandma with us, it is hard for her to get up the hill on
the other side. So part of what AYSO came up with were some alternatives of
where handicap accessible parking could be, the idea of possibly moving the fence
just a few feet to get the cars off the road, which is what we had talked about
earlier. So I think it is a good idea that Councilmember Bynum came up with is
some short -term solutions, but also maybe working with the Parks Department to
look at some long -term, and to bring in the Transportation Department as well into
the discussion. So thanks for bringing up that issue as well.
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: Thank you. If I could, I apologize if our process did
not include everybody. It was not intended to do that. We are trying to avoid just
going in and citing everybody for obstructing traffic, and we are trying to do it as
fairly as we could, but apparently we did not, and I apologize for that. One option
that I was thinking of for ADA is they could park—we have a County parking lot
with a sidewalk that runs down Ka`ana Street that we use. The Police Department
has one with handicap stalls that leads right to that crosswalk right there, which is
the only access on that side of the road to that field. And I would suggest in the
interim until the engineers and everybody has plans that that is utilized for
COUNCIL MEETING - 6 - April 11, 2012
anybody in a wheelchair because it is ADA compliant now. Part of the reason why I
was a little confused about this is it seems inconvenient actually to have to walk in
the road that far because that is the only access. Am I correct about that? That is
the only way to get into the field, right, right there? So if you are parked way down
at the end of the road, it seemed to me like it is actually a longer walk than it would
be to come across the street. I understand about the hill. But if we take into
consideration that the Police Department has that parking area that could be used
for ADA people, then I think we have a temporary solution that would be safer for
everybody.
Ms. Nakamura: And it would be good to maybe hear from Lenny
Rapozo following.
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Councilmember Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you. I appreciate your folks, again,
initiative. The fact of simply moving the fence in would not bring it into ADA
compliance because the ground is not (inaudible) stable.
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: It has no sidewalk.
Mr. Rapozo: So that would not solve that issue unless we
decided to pave a parking area, which may be a possible solution if we can relocate
that fence line and provide an area for ADA parking, as well as a loading and
unloading zone, which would be off the road completely. That would require
obvious funding because we would have to relocate fence, prepare that shoulder,
and create parking stalls. So I am not sure what the long -term solution is, and I
guess we will have the Parks Director up later. But I have to agree with you that
the safety issue is paramount, and I think we need to address that whether it is
through this resolution or through temporary signs. My concern of temporary signs
is it gives us that false sense of security that no worry we have the temporary signs.
We can always repeal the resolution. We can always do that. That is not a big
issue. But I am concerned that if we go with a temporary fix it will remain
temporary forever, and I would much rather... now that we have been put on notice,
this Council, the Police Department is recommending a no- parking area. Obviously
for me, I do not want to compromise safety for convenience and it is inconvenient.
Maybe we have to take a look at that park and put additional entries /gates or so
forth to make it accessible. My concern is not just the bus not being able to get
through, but if God forbid a fire truck has to get through there. We all know our
Fire Department responds to medical emergencies. We have had a few medical
emergencies at the Police Station or at the courthouse, and that Fire Truck would
not be able to make it through on a bad day. I am curious to hear what the Parks
Director has to say, but at this point I am inclined to support the resolution. Thank
you.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, Councilmember Kuali`i.
(Chair Furfaro was noted present.)
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Vice Chair. I just wanted to say I
really appreciate you folks moving forward with this, and I appreciate you coming
forward as a resolution so that we can use this time to educate the public as well.
And yet I agree with Councilmember Nakamura's comments about it would have
been good to talk with Parks & Rec. and the leagues up front to see if maybe they
COUNCIL MEETING - 7 - April 11, 2012
had suggestions too. But I think they probably would have come up with some of
the same things we are talking about now. So of course the ADA matter is
important, but I think also if we are redesigning that street in any way to think
about the whole idea of Complete Streets because I see Bev Brody sitting back there
and there are a lot of different possibilities and making the Police and the Bus
somewhat of a priority obviously because our County services is located there and
you have to get out as quickly as possible. But I think we are moving in the right
direction. We should take immediate action, and I think for one thing, if you would
have just started issuing fines as you could or going after people, it would have
educated them in a different way. And I think we, as locals, in general need to kind
of change our habits a little bit. We automatically want to park as close as possible
whether it is a legitimate parking method or not when with just a few more steps
we have all these parking lots right there. So the change has to happen and I am
glad to see that you are doing it, and it is obviously a requirement for safety first,
but thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Before I call up our Parks Director, I
want to put another suggestion into the hopper, and it is actually inspired by the
three people back there who are sitting there, and it is a Complete Streets Smart -
Growth concept. One possibility might be to look at that street as a north -bound
one -way street. Obviously it was not really well planned. You seldom see right
angled streets, right? So that is the first problem. But I think we are going to hear
later on the agenda what is being proposed at the street by Immaculate Conception
School and Isenberg Park, where they are proposing a one -way street that will give
room for pedestrians, car, and parking? I think parking too. So that is another
concept to investigate, going north or one -way going, and it would mean everybody
adjusting. But there is a very good access through the traffic through Ka-pule
Highway access, which is not far away. Anyway, it is not completely thought
through. It is just another suggestion on the list.
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: There is another suggestion. If you have no
parking on the park side, instead of making that a grassed area, you would make
that a sidewalk for people to walk on this side, and nobody can park on that side.
You do not have to move the fence line. I think you accomplish a much safer
pedestrian path and again ADA could use the parking lot up the road or park where
these vehicles are parked here. You can make that a handicap parking.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, those are possibilities. It seems like there is a
need to drop things off and it is not just for handicap, but for the participants, the
users. One thought, you could even just make it a cul -de -sac. That is a really rough
idea, but a drop -off and then people go and park somewhere else.
Acting Lt. Gausepohl: There is this area too for drop -off where there is a
road ... there is actually a road on the other side of these vehicles that goes into the
park. That could be used as a loading /unloading type zone or whether they could
unload and move in.
Ms. Yukimura: Possibly. That is why I think what we are
visualizing —and this applies to any place where we are trying to solve problems as
a County is this getting all the users or getting user representatives together and
doing some joint problem- solving because then you can test it out on different users
and see how it would work. And Chair, you have a comment?
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes, I want to ask Lenny and Lyle from
Engineering to do something for us, talking about the solution and /or more the long-
term solution. And if we could put this up, now up at the top over there of this
COUNCIL MEETING - 8 - April 11, 2012
exhibit, is that not Ho`olako Street supposed to eventually come around. Where this
piece is at the soccer field, is that not more like a driveway approach? Do we know
what the ultimate design of this area is? Lenny, you do? Great.
Ms. Yukimura: Why do you not come up, Parks Director?
Council Chair Furfaro: Lenny the question is posed like what we do now is
short -term, but what is the ultimate long -term outcome of this area? And if you can
tell us, I would appreciate it. And then I will give the floor back to the Vice Chair
who is sitting in for me right now.
LEONARD A. RAPOZO, JR., Parks & Recreation Director: For the record,
Director of Parks & Recreation Lenny Rapozo. To answer your question, Chair, in
the original Master Plan that was done for this particular area and if you had
noticed, if you remember during my Parks Master Plan presentation, this particular
field as we know it today was actually a parking lot. And the parking lot that the
picture that Officer Gausepohl had up there where this road is was to connect to
Ka`ana and this road would continue this way and would connect to the driveway of
the current stadium, and this area here was all parking. This field here, if you
remember, I think it was, and Councilmember Yukimura can correct me if I am
wrong and Chair, is that it was done by the Kusaka Administration. At that time
soccer became really popular and we were short of fields, so this was an expansion
field. But this actually was a parking lot that was...
Ms. Yukimura: Well, it is a proposed parking lot.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: With the Master Plan, it was proposed to be the
parking lot, and they made it into a soccer field. So this particular road...
Council Chair Furfaro: Lenny, on that point, I just want to clarify. So it
was not at the time a design flaw.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: No.
Council Chair Furfaro: It had a different purpose.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Correct.
Council Chair Furfaro: And are we going to continue to use this area for
soccer and /or are these long -term going to be replacement fields?
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: We will not get rid of the soccer field. If anything,
we would move it somewhere else depending upon what we decide to do with the
Master Plan for this area that we are coming out with.
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: So it is possible that these fields may be moved to
the north side if we continue with the 1975 Master Plan and use this for soccer or
this may be currently continued to be soccer if we use the other portion to do...
Council Chair Furfaro: But it gives credibility to Vice Chair Yukimura's
comment then if it is going to be long -term as that, then maybe this should be a one-
way street.
COUNCIL MEETING - 9 - April 11, 2012
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Correct. If we remember, this road that we are
talking about, I believe it was an access driveway when the Bus Agency was first to
be built there.
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes, that is why I referred to it. Maybe it was
designed as a driveway.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Yes. I do not think the intent was for it ever to be a
road because at the time Ka'ana was not built yet. So once Ka'ana came, this is a
driveway, in my opinion. Like Councilmember Yukimura said I do not think we
would put right - angles in roads at such a degree for emergency vehicles to traverse
this area.
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes and that is what I wanted to point out. This
right angle is a temporary 90- degree turn.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Correct.
Council Chair Furfaro: And that we are using it, but have not caught up to
the Master Plan and probably will not for several years, so it gives merit to the
one -way street idea.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Correct, correct, that is a good alternative, one that
I had thought about. The other alternative and one of the reasons or the
explanations is I believe when this field was designed or constructed, all the
accesses are on the stadium side of the field because that is where they intended
people to park, and they did not intend people to use that side as parking. And we
as users of the facility found it convenient to park there and access this gate
because as you can see by this picture, there are fields there. If my child was
playing here, for convenience, yes, I would park over there. If I can get away with
it, I would park over there, I would do it.
Council Chair Furfaro: That is why we knew you coming up, you would
have all the answers for us. Vice Chair Yukimura, I will turn the mike back to you
because I am going to step out again.
(Chair Furfaro was noted excused at 10:18 a.m.)
Ms. Yukimura: All right. Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Lenny, am I correct in assuming that we have some
ADA issues here?
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Definitely and I believe, again, when it was built,
the ADA barrier was not as high of a priority as it is today, which we all know it is.
But I will tell this Council anytime we touch any part of this facility and build out
or change design, we are required to make those connections at that time. We are
working through our Parks in addressing ADA barriers, and obviously, we have not
gotten to this one. We are working on some projects on the West Side right now in
addressing ADA barriers.
Mr. Bynum: Well, even though these fields are deemed
temporary for the last 14 -15 years, we still are required to address these ADA
issues.
COUNCIL MEETING _10- April 11, 2012
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: No doubt, yes, we are required. And like every
other facility that we have we are going from facility to facility working our way
across the island.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I think a lot of good suggestions have come up and
perhaps if we could ask the Police Department to perhaps go back and get some
groups together to do some planning? Would that be possible?
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Well, I will say this. I do not believe and the reason
I was fortunate to have this picture in our archives and I am going to thank
John Martin of my office for having this is that there was a question or there was a
proposal to move the fence, and I am not in favor of moving the fence and the reason
being, if you look at these fields right here, in this section here, the fence is right
here. In order to move the fence to get parking, we are going to lose fields. For the
record, the Mayor's calling me, and I am apologizing to him on the record because I
am doing this. Anyway, we are going to lose some of the fields and I do not want to
lose fields because when we max out this field, currently... the current league that is
using these fields, they do not max out the field because it is a select group that is
playing right now. But if we do come up with the AYSO and there is some talk that
some of the people in the community want to do a soccer tournament here, which I
would love which I think we sorely need, just in this one picture alone along the
fence line, we are talking one, two, three, four fields. In here picture five, six fields
and further up over here towards the road we would probably put in another two
fields. If we come any closer or move the fence line over, it is going to impact the
fields, impact people that want to watch the game, impacting where players need to
be separate from the parents so that we can have a good game. So I do not believe
that I would be in favor of moving the fence line. I think one of the options that was
mentioned was maybe turn this into a one -way may be a possibility, but I am sure
the Bus Agency would probably have a concern.
Ms. Yukimura: Well, that is why they have to be at the table too.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: I agree. I am not saying that. But also I think in
this area here, my proposal would be a drop -off.
Ms. Yukimura: And that is also an idea to work on. So thank you.
Any other questions of our Parks Director? If not... okay.
Ms. Nakamura: Lenny, I just wanted to thank you for giving us this
site map that shows the field layout and for getting the word out to the different
soccer leagues about the impacts because I have gotten through the emails
warnings not to park along that side of the fence or you will be ticketed and also the
concern from AYSO. The suggestion from AYSO about parking on the mauka side,
where they have the mound...
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Correct.
Ms. Nakamura: ... and the entry way, the gate entryway...
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Correct, correct.
Ms. Nakamura: Is that feasible?
COUNCIL MEETING - 11 - April 11, 2012
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: During AYSO the babies play on that end of the
field, so there is a lot of activity on that side. Other than AYSO, during the current
HYSA League that is a possibility, but there are underground irrigation that the
organizers of the league would have to be responsible and ensure that damages
were not done and somebody would actually have to police that if they are coming in
the park. Because again if during AYSO the field is pretty much maxed out.
Because of the different ages, we need to line fields for the appropriate ages. So the
babies play on that side of the field and then as the ages get older, they move up
towards the roadside.
Ms. Nakamura: They like to play in the mound of dirt.
Mr. Lenny Rapozo: Exactly and for the parents it is easy, let them play
there.
Ms. Nakamura: And a potluck would be nice too with the mound of
dirt.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Any other questions? If not, thanks
very much. I think what I will do, unless there are questions of either...
Ms. Nakamura: Just one more question.
Ms. Yukimura: You have one more question of the Police? Okay, go
ahead.
Ms. Nakamura: Would a one -way street there impair your
operations?
AC Quibilan: I believe so, it would. If you look at... well, we do
not have the map of the main Police Station, but there are two ways of getting in
and out of the main Police Station. One, closer to Ka`ana Street at the traffic light
and this one right here, this driveway right here. So if we had an emergency on
Rice Street, we would take this route right here, on Rice Street, anywhere heading
towards Puhi. If we had to go out to Kapule Highway, airport, Hanama`ulu heading
east and north, we would take the Ka`ana Street exit. So creating a one -way street
here would impede our ability to exit in and out of this area here.
Ms. Nakamura: So if it is one way going to Lihu`e, you are fine?
AC Quibilan: Yes, well...
Ms. Nakamura: You do not want it one way going the other way is
what you are saying.
AC Quibilan: Yes, because the proposal was north bound, which
was heading towards the... from this direction heading towards this direction. This
would be considered north bound. So, yes, that is north bound. That was the
proposal.
Ms. Yukimura: We are not going to —I do not think —solve it today,
so I do not want to try to go through all the details, although I know
Councilmember Kuali`i wants to say something. This has been a good
brainstorming session and maybe gives you an idea of the kinds of interests and
users that need to be addressed, and I am wondering if you might be able to go back
COUNCIL MEETING -12- April 11, 2012
and work with and I see Lyle Tabata there from Public Works
have at the table too. You want to say something, Lyle?
coming up, Councilmember.
. He is a good one to
Okay, while you are
Mr. Kuali`i: Just my comment about whatever configuration it
took that the Police and the Bus were the primary concern, and of course it meant
those two driveways. There is a driveway in and out of the bus depot as well, which
they would need two -way. And then the Police would need two -way there. So the
problem area, primarily the one -way would be between those driveways.
AC Quibilan: Correct.
Mr. Kuali`i: Because you still have your access from the north
side and then you have this access from the south side. The only limitation would
be the bus would have only one access from the north side, but I do not think they
need this sharp corner there where they are having problems anyway. So it is not
meant that it would be that whole 700 -foot area would be one way? The one -way
would have to take into consideration the Police and the Bus. That is it.
Ms. Yukimura: And I know there is a desire to go back and forth
and resolve this, but we are not going to get there today. Councilmember Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: I have one question for everybody. Have you ever
gone to a football game, a fair, a concert and tried to leave on a two -way? It is
rough. You make that one -way, it is insane.
The other thing is the Police Department's function is not to go meet with
the... You should be a major stakeholder in this discussion, but this is not for the
Police Department to go call the stakeholders together and say hi, we need to take
care of a safety issue, but I need the consensus. That is not for the Police
Department. The Police Department came to us with a solution of a safety issue,
which I intend to support. From this point on, it is up to Parks, Public Works,
Council, whoever to figure out a way to address the convenience issues. But that is
not for the Police Department to go out and say hey, let us have a community
meeting, and I do not like to sound like non - compassionate, but golly, these guys are
police officers. They are not community people. I think we have Complete Streets
back there, Bev Brody. Perfect person, I think, to facilitate that discussion. Lenny,
Lyle, those are the ones, but of course, the Bus and the Police need to be a part.
Ms. Yukimura: Well, whoever is solving the problem has to get
everybody together, and Mr. Tabata, you have a comment?
LYLE TABATA, Deputy County Engineer: For the record Lyle Tabata,
Deputy County Engineer. If you read the resolution, it came from Public Works. So
Public Works, Engineering Department, this is the process. I will walk through the
process. We get the request. We got the request from the Police Department to
investigate. So we investigated, and based on our investigation of visiting the site
physically, identifying the uses of the area, identifying the needs of the users of the
area, did the warrant for the resolution. It just does not happen. It is based on
potential traffic counts, like I said the users of the area, the modes of traffic, the size
of the vehicles, and based on safety and health, we agreed with the Police
Department's request and created the resolution. So we are here because of that
request and the investigation by Engineering, and that is what we are presenting.
Ms. Yukimura: All right, thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING - 13 - April 11, 2012
Mr. Tabata: On a personal note, I coach soccer, referee, parent
over 20 years, and we use the access from the parking lot. We just got up and
walked and carried. That is what Complete Streets and Get Fit Kauai is all about.
I understand there are some ADA needs and for kupuna, but we still had our
kupuna walk from the parking lot to get in there, and that is why the access is only
via the Stadium route. Any questions for Engineering, I can...
Mr. Rapozo: I have a question for Lyle.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, go ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: Lyle, does the current scenario meet ADA
compliance?
Mr. Tabata: No.
Mr. Rapozo: If in fact we provided right up where those two
toilets are, that little area which some suggested as a drop -off.
Mr. Tabata: That was suggested by Lenny just today, and I will
have to meet with Engineering and get Christina Pilkington, our ADA Coordinator,
involved to look at that situation.
Mr. Rapozo: I still do not believe we are in compliance because
from the drop -off to the field there is no...
Mr. Tabata: We need a hardened area to get into the field.
Mr. Rapozo: That is two things we cannot compromise is public
safety and ADA compliance. I am concerned after today's discussion on TV we may
get a lawsuit just because we are allowing parking but not for ADA, and that is my
concern. This job is hard. Sometimes you have to take the emotion out because I
really believe I wish we could have parking over there because it makes it
convenient. But that drop -off area, to me, seems like the most logical, practical,
cost - effective solution is you create a drop -off area with an ADA access to the park
and I think that can be done even after this resolution passes. You stop the threat,
you provide the safety measure, and then work towards the access, I think is, in my
opinion, the right way to go.
Mr. Tabata: It is all about an accessible route, and if you say we
need to create a route to every one of those little fields, it is virtually impossible,
and then you alter the configuration ... like Lenny says it configures based on age
group, and it is going to be impossible to harden a route for those fields.
Mr. Rapozo:
Ms. Yukimura
Thank you.
Other questions.
Council Chair Furfaro: Just a reminder, you are close to a caption break
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. So we need to tie this up. So Lyle, you
are saying that you have talked to the user groups and you feel that the solution
being presented today is the best one of the possibilities or are there any of the
suggestions today worth looking further into?
COUNCIL MEETING -14- April 11, 2012
Mr. Tabata: We have not talked to the user groups as far as the
groups who use the facility for soccer, but Police, Transportation, the Judiciary
area, those people were all involved. We got their feedback of the uses. And for
safety and health of that corridor, we came forward with the resolution simply
based on the safety and health aspect of that corridor and also the congestion
created there warranted the no- parking zone to move the people to where they
should be parking, which is the large parking lot at the stadium.
Ms. Yukimura: Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: And I do not want to belabor this because I agree
with Councilmember Yukimura that the solution is not here. You folks are more
than competent to come up with a solution. When the Concert in the Sky happens
there, there is temporary no- parking in this whole area. We do not allow parking
then because we want to direct people to the parking area. My only, and I believe,
hopefully this is not a County Attorney question, but I think the Police already have
the authority when they have to temporarily make no- parking. You just said Lyle
that you had not discussed this with user groups. I do not know what the eventual
outcome. My only concern is we do not do something permanent and spend County
money and then find that there is a better solution. But I totally agree that we
should not have one more event there without at least temporarily addressing the
safety concern that the police have brought us. These are minor things, but if there
is going to be a better permanent solution, I do not think we should do something
permanent now when we have temporary things to address the immediate safety
concern. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: But what I heard from these gentlemen is the
permanent solution is the one that is being proposed.
Mr. Tabata: For the infrastructure that we have presently, that
is the solution. We can look, as you say, via a request, to look into anything beyond
this and work with the Parks Department and all the other users. But for what is
there right now, the resolution has been created because of what we have found.
Ms. Yukimura: So the way I see it, you could, without the
resolution, put up temporary no- parking and allow for some more discussion on the
alternatives, and we could defer this to allow for that kind of discussion. You may
come back and say, we have tried and this is it or you can come back and say we
have tried and this is what we have come up with. Am I hearing...
Mr. Tabata: I think that is where we are because of the Police
Department's concern with the safety of the area.
Ms. Yukimura: And the resolution is for a permanent no- parking
sign?
Mr. Tabata: Right.
Ms. Yukimura: So you are saying that...
Mr. Tabata: For the infrastructure that we have to deal with
today. If it changes, then...
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, so you are saying pass the resolution today
and you will go and see if there are other alternatives, and if there are, you will
come back to us?
COUNCIL MEETING - 15 - April 11, 2012
Mr. Tabata: We can.
Ms. Yukimura: All right, then we understand at least where the
Administration stands. Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: As I said, I hate to belabor this, but there are
people who have disabilities that are accessing those games now. There is legal
compliance and there is practical compliance. If they are not able to access the
fields from this end, there are people who will not be able to participate in this
community event because of the steepness of that slope. So I just would encourage
that whatever solution we come up with we address the real ADA concerns for those
people with disabilities who want to watch their kids play too.
Mr. Tabata: I think the Acting Lieutenant's recommendation
has substance, and if we can accommodate...
Ms. Yukimura: Which recommendation?
Mr. Tabata: To utilize the parking lot where the Police EOC
parking is and there is some ADA parking over there and utilize the sidewalk that
comes all the way to this entrance. I think that ... I was not aware of that
availability and we can definitely look at that.
Ms. Yukimura: And you are saying that would meet ADA
requirements?
Mr. Tabata: Well, the accessible route to the gate; we are not
going to be accessible into the field. If we harden that then you are going to restrict
the configuration of the field.
Ms. Yukimura: Your understanding of ADA requirements is that
they need to have a sidewalk going to the field and that is why you do not think it
would work. I think we have to allow this conversation to move to another forum
rather than the Council and so the choice at least for this body today on the
resolution is whether or not to approve it, and we have two choices basically, to
either approve the resolution and trust the promise of Mr. Tabata to work with the
different parties to see how to address the outstanding issues of ADA and user need
or we can defer the resolution and ask them to come back with a more
comprehensive solution. Thank you, gentlemen. Chair, do you want to turn this
back?
Council Chair Furfaro: No, go ahead and (inaudible).
Ms. Yukimura: I just want to ask now if there is anybody from the
public who wishes to testify on this matter. Mr. Taylor.
KEN TAYLOR: Chair and Members of the Council, my name is Ken
Taylor. I certainly can understand the concerns for safety here, but at the same
time we are in the process of adopting a new long -range Park Plan that has some
major changes for all of this area down there. So unfortunately I do not believe that
anything major should take place until after the adoption of the new long -range
Park Plan. I find it interesting that we talk about wanting to keep the rural
character of the island and yet when we park a little bit crazy on some streets
occasionally, it becomes a serious problem. I think all we need to do is put two signs
up there that says when this area is in use that the speed limit is 10 miles an hour.
COUNCIL MEETING -16- April 11, 2012
There is not that much traffic on this road during the hours at this place taking
place, and I do not see and we have spent over an hour discussing this. I can
understand the concern the officers have for safety and well- being. I do not know
how many accidents have taken place down there in the last five to ten years, but it
would be interesting to know. In keeping the rural character of the island, until we
can put the Complete Streets activity in place in this area, I think that two speed
limit signs in the area would solve any major problem. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Any questions of Mr. Taylor? If not,
thank you very much. Is there anyone else who wishes to testify? Mr. Mickens.
GLENN MICKENS: Thank you, JoAnn. For the record Glenn Mickens.
Very briefly, I think that Mel brings up the major point here for this whole area. It
all needs redoing and to accommodate the major events that he was talking about,
as well as these soccer fields keep on being more and more overused and for, as you
pointed out Tim, the ADA problem, it is going to have to be solved. I was on that
south road by the soccer field. I go there every Saturday for the baseball game and
a little girl ran across the road. The cars cannot park on that road now, but there
are entrances going into the soccer field, and cars park on that asphalt area there
by Vidinha Stadium. She ran out from those cars. I obviously was going very slow
because there is a lot of traffic there. She was not looking. She just ran out across
the street, which could have been a tragedy waiting to happen. So I think that the
whole situation is going to have to be looked at, but you have a major thing to redo
this whole area so that they can accommodate. If there is going to be more and
more traffic and more and more people, it is going to have to be accommodated, but
it is going to take major ... the Master Plan for Parks & Recreation, again. We were
talking about, as you pointed out before JoAnn, about the Stadium trying to put a
major sports complex down there 20 years ago or something did not happen. We did
not have the money, and we still do not have the money today. So we are dreaming
about building all these new facilities and we do not have the money to maintain
what we have. Anyway, this definitely needs addressing, but I am not sure what
the total answer is until you come up with the budget. Thank you, JoAnn.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Glenn. Any other person wishes to
testify? If not, the Council will now come back to order.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Ms. Yukimura: What is the pleasure of the Council? I think there
is a motion to approve that is pending. Any discussion on the motion to approve?
Councilmember Nakamura.
Ms. Nakamura: I will be supporting this motion. I would just ask
that while we move forward with the safety issues that Parks & Recreation looks at
the overall ADA issues, some good ideas that came out of today's discussion, the
loading zone suggestion, the possible one -way street suggestion, and I think it is
going to involve a lot of different agencies to come up with some of the solutions.
But I think it was a good airing of the issues. So I am ready to move forward.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Any other... Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: I have already expressed my concern. I do not
mind approving this today. I would just encourage that we not put in permanent
kind of facilities until we resolve some of these other issues. I applaud the Police
Department for bringing this forward because it clearly is a safety concern and I
COUNCIL MEETING -17- April 11, 2012
also think this is a good example of why these things come to the County Council
because we have a process that informs the public of pending changes that gives
them opportunity to contact us. I think some of the Council's... the reason we have a
Council is to have the big picture because nobody did anything wrong here.
Everybody did everything right. The Police Department identified a concern and
they took action to address it. The way our process works, it comes here, we get
input from citizens who say hey, did you think of this, and then the department
starts talking to each other, and we come up with better solutions. So on a process
level, this is good, but I am okay with supporting it now. But that is why things
come here, so we can look at the big picture and that is happening because we have
responsive people that work for the County that are thoughtful. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Any other discussion? Councilmember Chang.
Mr. Chang: Thank you, Vice Chair. Yes, I am going to be
supporting this resolution and I want to thank the Police Department, Public
Works, Parks & Rec. for bringing this subject up because as many people know
there are tons of fundraisers and right around the corner, as we all know, is the
annual Hospice Concert in the Sky. As many of us know, a lot of people want to
follow that blueprint as far as that small gate that we all are familiar with. There
is usually the stage that is right back there with the restrooms with VIP parking.
So this is only going to create awareness to all the public and all the park users at
every other event that happens thereafter. The concern that we learned from the
soccer community is a concern that is going to carry on, and I have confidence and
faith as Deputy Engineer Lyle Tabata says that they are ready to move forward and
they are ready to address the stakeholders. So I am comfortable with the fact that
we can move this on, and I am glad it did create awareness because there are a lot
of fundraisers that happen there periodically throughout the course of the year. So
this will be a message for them that that is a big safety concern. So I think this
discussion really helped out a lot of the community, and the thinkers and the
planners in advance of their own functions that we expect this year at the stadium.
Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Councilmember Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you. I wanted to thank Lyle for coming up
and explaining the process because I think the public's perception was that the
Police Department made this resolution and brought it to the Council and is trying
to make a very inconvenient situation, but what happened was the Police
Department went to Public Works, and Public Works did the analysis, the
investigation, and came up with what they felt is the best safe resolution. I do want
to read this email. I am not going to mention the name of the person that sent it,
but it is a very active soccer coach and dad and everything else, but let me just read
because I think it is important. And attached to this email was a picture of that
fence line with no vehicles on a day that there was some activity. But it says, "This
picture was taken this weekend. As you can see there are no cars parked against
the fence. All I did was send out an email." So this person took it upon himself to
send an email to parents, coaches, saying hey, do not park on the fence, and it
apparently worked. "My problem was that KPD did not once ask HYSA or AYSO
about moving the cars." And understandably they felt left out. But again, the
process is not for KPD to do it. It is for KPD to do the request through the channels,
so I think that is clarified. "What HYSA would like is to have a drop -off area so
people can drop off their tents next to the gate which is behind , the bus washing
area. Also, what would be good is that along the fence in the picture is to have some
more openings so people do not have to jump over the fence. For handicap parking,
we should have parking next to the main gate, which is located facing the housing
COUNCIL MEETING -18- April 11, 2012
with a couple of openings." And I think we need to address that as we move
forward, but it is in the established parking area. HYSA is not asking to establish a
new parking area. And this is interesting, "I also recommend that KPD do some
checks and if there is any cars parking there (which is along that fence), they should
ticket them. If you or any Councilmembers have any questions, call me." So I think
they are reasonable. They are saying hey, you know what? We agree. They felt left
out, but they are suggesting a drop -off area for the tents, and this is more for Public
Works and Engineering and Parks. In fact, I believe based on this email it looks
like they agree that no one should be parking there. So I just wanted to make that
clarification. This actually came from a HYSA person. For obvious reasons, I will
be supporting the resolution. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Any other comments? Chair?
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes, I will be supporting the resolution, but I just
want to look across the room and make sure that Lenny, as well as Engineering, as
well as Public Works, understand there are some urgent solutions on the ADA
portion and so forth. I am supporting this with the understanding that the R &M
money is available to make these short -term adjustments on ADA parking.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Chair. Any other comments? Are you
done? I just want to say that this discussion has been very helpful. I appreciate the
efforts of everyone, and the letter read by Councilmember Rapozo shows us how
important it is that whoever is doing the problem solving to check with the other
users.
And the other takeaway for me on this is that part of this problem is arising
because much of our Park development is done on a temporary basis. These soccer
fields are temporary, and we have a lot of other instances where things are
temporary, and when they are done that way, they do not fully address always the
things that need to be addressed, and they result in right -angle roads as well. So
that is the importance of the master planning process that will make sure that the
soccer needs are met, that our large event needs are met, and they are met in an
infrastructure that is well planned so that even if we build it incrementally they
will all come together and we will do it as efficiently and as effectively as possible.
So if... Chair?
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you for surfacing the temporariness of many
temporary things. I remember 1957 my wife sitting on Lumaha`i Ridge and they
temporarily fixed the Waipa One -way Bridge. I have no problem with it being a
one -way bridge, but if you take a look, that is temporary since 1957 with moss rock
built under it. So we all have to get better at that.
Ms. Yukimura: Actually, Chair, the DOT is one of the great ones to
do things temporarily. Thank you. So if there is no further discussion, we need a
roll call vote, please.
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2012 -26 was then put, and carried
by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo, TOTAL — 7,
Yukimura, Furfaro
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
COUNCIL MEETING -19- April 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, the motion is passed and the resolution is
passed. Chair Furfaro, you want to take the meeting back?
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. We are going to take a
10- minute caption break.
There being no objections, the meeting was recessed at 10:52 a.m.
The meeting was called back to order at 11:07 a.m., and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: This Council meeting is called back to order since
our caption break and to the Clerk's Office, I want to go to page 3. I want to do item
C 2012 -70, Complete Streets, followed by C 2012 -74, dealing with the Salary
Commission transmittal.
There being no objections, C 2012 -70 was taken out of order.
C 2012 -70 Communication (02/15/2012) from Bev Brody, Island
Coordinator, Get Fit Kauai, transmitting for Council information, an update on the
County's Complete Streets Policy adopted via Resolution 2010 -48: Mr. Rapozo
moved to receive C 2012 -70 for the record, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. On that note, the rules are
suspended. Bev, you have the podium. Do you have a team with you of individuals?
We have enough chairs, we have enough mikes to take two additional people at the
same time. We have three extra seats. Do you have enough room there at the end?
Can the camera get her? Thank you.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Council Chair Furfaro: Bev, aloha, good morning.
BEVERLY BRODY, Get Fit Kauai Coordinator: Aloha, good morning.
Council Chair Furfaro: Will you be making a PowerPoint presentation?
Ms. Brody: Yes, we will.
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay, I would like to start with that PowerPoint
presentation, but to do that I have to move across the room. So I will give you the
floor now for your presentation, but you need to reintroduce yourself and the people
that are with you, if they could introduce themselves now it would be better than
catching them if they give testimony.
Ms. Brody: All right. My name is Bev Brody and I am the Get
Fit Kauai Coordinator.
MARIE WILLIAMS, Planner: My name is Marie Williams. I am a
planner with the Planning Department.
LYLE TABATA, Deputy County Engineer: Lyle Tabata, Deputy County
Engineer, Public Works.
SARAH BOWEN: I am Sarah Bowen. I am with Kauai Natural
Resources Consulting and also with CTAHR and the extension office here on Kauai.
COUNCIL MEETING -20- April 11, 2012
Ms. Brody: And the Vice Chair of Get Fit Kaua`i's Built
Environment Task Force. Before I begin this presentation, I just really want to
share some outstanding news that happened yesterday and that is HB 2626, the
Safe Routes to School Bill that permanently establishes a Safe Routes to School
Fund on each of the islands, was passed, and it is on its way to the Governor's Office
today. Yay, the first time in history, yay, it is good. I particularly would like to
thank, on behalf of Get Fit Kauai, Councilmember Bynum and Councilmember
Yukimura for submitting testimony in favor of this bill. So it is very exciting and
Get Fit Kauai is very happy, so thank you.
As I introduced myself, I am Bev Brody from the Get Fit Kauai Coalition,
and we are giving a presentation today on Complete Streets. I just want to let you
know just a quick history. Get Fit Kauai is the County's Nutrition and Physical
Activity Coalition, and it is funded by the Healthy Hawaiian Initiative. We are
guided by the first Physical Activity and Nutrition Plan, which you all have a copy
of. This is the first plan ever of its kind in Hawaii. Our task is to increase
opportunities for physical activity and access to healthier foods through policy,
system, and environmental changes. Our Get Fit Kauai Built Environment Task
Force helped write and pass the Complete Streets Resolution, and also the Built
Environment Task Force and the Safe Routes to School Task Force; our focus is to
improve community outcomes, community design for healthier outcomes.
Resolution 2010 -48 passed here in Kauai in 2010, and part of that, it fulfilled a
requirement of Act 54. Act 54 was passed in May of 2009 and it was a State law, a
State Complete Streets law, and in that law it stated that each County would adopt
a Complete Streets policy. And I was going to say to date Kauai is the only, but
Kauai was the first. Yesterday Maui actually also accepted a Complete Streets
policy, which is great, very exciting.
We have received an awful lot of publicity, not just locally but nationally.
The National Complete Streets Coalition newsletter featured us in it as Kauai was
the first community in Hawaii to adopt a policy after Act 54 was recognized. Also
in April of 2011 Get Fit Kauai took part in a Complete Streets policy analysis
report, and we were also featured, that was published, and most recently the Center
of Excellence for Training and Research Translation, which is from the University
of North Carolina, published a whole story on the Hawaii Complete Streets policy
of which Kauai was featured.
So what has Get Fit Kauai done so far? We have provided funding for
technical assistance from the National Complete Streets Coalition, Michael Moule
and Dan Burden. We have brought Complete Streets experts to the Statewide
Planning Conference, and most importantly Get Fit Kauai has really monitored the
County's progress over the last 18 months to just make sure that everybody stays on
task with this important measure. So we have been working very closely with
Public Works and Planning to make sure we are right on line.
Ms. Yukimura: Monitored is a kind word.
Ms. Brody: Monitored is a kind word, true. In April of 2011
through CPPW funds, which is Communities Putting Prevention to Work, Get Fit
Kauai secured the technical assistance from the National Complete Streets
Coalition, and three transportation experts came to Kauai to help us,
Paul Zykofsky, Tom von Schrader, and Kristin Bennett. While they were on Kauai,
they gave a presentation to the Kauai County Council. They also conducted a
public workshop that 76 people attended. They were guests on two radio shows.
They also facilitated a Complete Streets implementation workshop for County staff
and other stakeholders. At the conclusion of that implementation workshop, it was
COUNCIL MEETING -21- April 11, 2012
brought to light that the departments were working in silos, and to do this work,
the Complete Streets work, we really had to work together. We had to change the
way we did business. So in the days that followed, Planning, Public Works and
Transportation started talking to each other and working on projects together. And
not long into this new attempt of doing things, it was clear that we needed more
help. So in October 2011, again through CPPW funds and Healthy Hawaiian
Initiative funds, Michael Moule, who is a transportation engineer, spent five days
on Kauai with Public Works, Planning, Housing, Transit, Fire, and the County
Attorney, all in one room at the same time. The results of Michael's visit were
nothing short of miraculous with remarkable outcomes that I am going to let Lyle
and Marie touch on in a moment.
We also partnered with the County Planning Department to bring Complete
Streets and Sustainable Planning experts to the Planning for Healthy and Livable
Communities HCPO 2011 Conference, and one of the unexpected outcomes of this,
of having all these people come, was the American Planning Association President,
Mitchell Silver, was not planning on coming to Kaua`i's Planning Conference, and
then he saw how many and who was presenting, and he changed his mind, booked
his flight, and came to Kauai, which made HCPO a national event and really put
Kauai on the map. They did an outstanding job with that conference.
In December of 2011, Get Fit Kauai formed a Complete Streets Outreach and
Education Committee, and our goal is to visit every community on Kauai within the
next year to help educate the public about Complete Streets. So in February 2012
Dan Burden visited Kauai, and Lyle, myself, Sarah, and Dan traveled from sea to
shining sea. We went from Kekaha all the way to Hanalei, and we took pictures of
streets islandwide. And we are going to use some of those examples in our
PowerPoint presentations that we will be giving around the island. So if you take a
look at this street right here. That is Isenberg Park on your right. This is
Kanekolu Street the way it stands now. And if we just add a little bit of paint, these
are the changes that can be made. This is the street that JoAnn was referring to
earlier that we were thinking about making a one -way. Notice that there is room
on the side for pedestrians, for cyclists, for skateboards. The crosswalk and access
to the park is very evident. And the thing about this is it is all done with
inexpensive paint, and it is not necessarily a...it could be temporary, it could be
permanent, but it is very inexpensive and very, very effective. So what we are
learning is Complete Streets does not have to cost a lot of money, Glenn.
Council Chair Furfaro: Excuse me, if you are going to use that as a
demonstration, I would suggest you add to your signage something that says
one -way.
Ms. Brody: Yes.
Council Chair Furfaro: That is a very important component.
Ms. Brody: I guess it would be, would it not? Yes.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much.
Ms. Brody: So what is next for Get Fit Kauai? As part of the
resolution that was passed by the County Council 18 -19 months ago it stated that
we had to give a report, and so we are completing that now. And what we are going
to do next is we are going to continue to support the County in updating their
roadway and development standards. We are going to coordinate efforts with the
Countywide Safe Routes to School Task Force, and as I mentioned before, we have
COUNCIL MEETING -22- April 11, 2012
formed a Complete Streets Outreach Committee, and we plan to travel around the
island helping educate the public on what Complete Streets are and what they are
not. And I look forward to continuing to monitor Planning and Public Works, and
work closely with them to continue the wonderful work that we have started. Now
we can hear from Planning. Yes?
Mr. Chang: Thanks, Bev. Just a very quick question before you
move. Page no. 9, slide 9, curiosity, is that Kilauea?
Ms. Brody: I am just looking to see what that is. It is? There
it is. You know what? No, that is Kekaha.
Mr. Chang: Kekaha. Lyle looks like he is indeed looking from
sea to shining sea in the solar system. Thank you.
Ms. Brody: Actually, did you know that Chief Westerman took
that photo. He was there with us that day.
Mr. Chang: Thank you (inaudible).
Ms. Brody: You are welcome.
Ms. Williams: Thanks, Bev. Again, my name is Marie Williams. I
will be reporting on the Planning Department's progress in relation to the Complete
Streets policy. First I want to show you that much of our Complete Streets work
really is in line with the County's General Plan. In the policies for town centers and
public facilities, the General Plan requires us to consider transportation
alternatives such as pedestrian and bicycle travel. So when the resolution was
passed, we developed this policy framework to show how Complete Streets fits into
our Planning System. To effectively implement Complete Streets, we need to
update our Zoning and Subdivision Codes, create a stronger Multi -modal
Transportation component in our long -range plans, and improve our six -year CIP
process, and I will touch on those. Again, as Bev mentioned, we really benefited
from an internal action plan that was created last year in October when Michael
Moule, an engineer, came, and like Bev said this internal action plan encompassed
all relevant County Departments. And in particular to Planning, Mr. Moule helped
us identify critical zoning and subdivision changes, and he identified ways that we
could improve our six -year CIP process and work with Public Works to update the
roadway standards, and Lyle will touch more on that.
We are also fortunate to be in the process of updating our Community
Development Plans, and this will provide us with an opportunity to strengthen the
land use and transportation connection, and involve the community in the
long -range planning of their multi -modal circulation networks. We are also working
with the County's Multi -modal Transportation Plan just currently underway and
the State's Long -range Land Transportation Plan. There is Planning Department
staff on the Technical Advisory Committees for both these plans, and we
understand that we will have to coordinate all of these plans with our community
plans somehow.
Another opportunity to properly implement Complete Streets is our Six -year
CIP Report, which lists all major proposed new capital projects and shows how they
are connected to the General Plan. Since many of these projects are road and
roadway projects, we are developing a Complete Streets Checklist and Evaluation
that will use GIS. And the map on the right is an example of a walkshed around a
COUNCIL MEETING -23- April 11, 2012
proposed road project. That is Puhi Road and that shows us walkable destinations
in close proximity and helps us analyze the demographics of the neighborhood as
well.
This is my last slide. But in summary, the Planning Department refined our
implementation plan, and we are very grateful to the assistance provided by Get Fit
Kauai, and we recognize that we still have a lot of work ahead of us. Thank you.
Mr. Tabata: My name is Lyle Tabata, again, Chair, Vice Chair,
Members. So the work that Public Works is doing to support the
Resolution 2010 -48, we followed the same framework as Planning because we are
doing this together. The Administration, through Public Works, is committed to
making the Complete Streets Resolution a reality. Utilizing the same framework
that Planning has presented, there are three parts to our success. First is
upgrading our street design standards. Our Complete Streets Task Force, being led
by Public Works, is adapting the Los Angeles County Living Streets Manual to our
needs on Kauai. Our Task Force includes people from Public Works Engineering,
Roads, Building, Planning, the Planning Department, Housing, Fire, Police, and
Transportation. We began with the introduction, Chapter 1 of the manual and are
working our way through Chapter 13. With Planning, we are part of updating the
County's Subdivision Ordinance. As affecting CIP planning, every project will have
a checklist to include the Complete Streets component.
Our internal action plan that was created during Michael Moule's workshop
was to encompass all relevant departments, and what we have done already during
the Michael Moule Workshop, the Task Force spent a whole week with Michael
creating action plans for implementation. It started with a general overall
presentation of Complete Streets to educate the participants. We spent a whole day
with Planning to help them create objectives with action plans and timelines to
complete and implement; then another whole day with Engineering, Roads,
Building in Public Works to review design standards and how they fit into our
communities, and what objectives we wished to accomplish, create action plans and
timelines to complete and implement. Public Works has preselected possible
projects, reviewed project plans in process, such as the Lihu`e Civic Center and
Hardy Street, and took drawings of other streets and did mark -ups with
Michael Moule to show us how to do road diets. There is a whole learning process.
Our Public Works Complete Streets Task Force presently have —and we have not
missed one since we started even with me on vacation — monthly workshops where
we would work on each chapter, taking one chapter at a time, and adapting it to
Kaua`i's roadway and subdivision standards for construction. The standards need
to be coordinated with Planning for concurrence.
Then just recently in February we were privileged to have Dan Burden here
for a weekend to walk me through street audits while taking photos of raw streets
from one end of Kauai to the other, as Bev brought up. These photos will be used to
display opportunities.
So our internal action plan created Complete Streets projects that are
already in process include Safe Routes to School upgrades in process. The upgrades
will include low -cost traffic calming devices, signage, road striping for now. The
larger infrastructure upgrades will take time to engineer, fund, and then construct.
Complete Streets for community town retrofits will also start with low -cost traffic
calming devices, signage, and road striping with major infrastructure upgrades to
follow. So you can see up there our laundry list basically. Where we have the Safe
COUNCIL MEETING -24- April 11, 2012
Routes to School you will note that those are directly related to what Bev
announced early on in the beginning of our presentation, the Safe Routes to School
law. We can call it law now.
Ms. Brody: Almost.
Mr. Tabata: And then we have picked several community
projects that we would be pursuing whenever we do pavement preservation
retrofits, and that would call us and these are selected primarily because they are
part of the collector road system, which is available for Federal funding. So to
leverage the Federal funding, we are going to reprogram these pavement
preservation projects.
My last slide is a picture of a bare street. There is an automation that makes
it end up as a Complete Street with all the bells and whistles as it would be
upgraded. Anyway, that is it for now and we will take questions.
Council Chair Furfaro: Lyle, we will take questions at the end. Could you
help us with terminology here. In the Engineering world, when you make reference
to road diets, this is a retrofitting process?
Mr. Tabata: The road diet is looking at a street and being able
to identify present infrastructure, and by just the use of paint, reconfigure the
right -of -way pavement area to meet our Complete Streets needs.
Council Chair Furfaro: Got it. It is kind of like when we eat with our eyes,
you see a vision. So I just want to make sure the group understood the terminology
because you have certain Acts referencing road diets here. So it is retrofitting and
reconstruction.
Mr. Tabata: Yes, the road diet would be the initial first pass,
and when we come up with our configuration, then we would do the retrofit.
Council Chair Furfaro: Good, thank you.
Mr. Tabata: And the retrofit would be the higher cost options.
Council Chair Furfaro: More than paint.
Mr. Tabata: Yes. That would improve the sidewalks, create
bike pathways, and at the same time meet all our ADA requirements for accessible
routes.
Council Chair Furfaro: And would the appropriate signage be included in
that piece?
and...
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay. So are we ready to go to the next presenter?
Ms. Bowen: I actually am not presenting. I am just observing
Council Chair Furfaro: You are a member of the team.
Ms. Bowen: I am a member of the team, thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING -25- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Got it. It is like the offensive guard, who very
rarely gets to carry the ball, but you cannot play without the guard. Got it. Bev,
are we updating a slide? Is that what we are doing?
Ms. Brody: I was hoping that I had a copy of the slide that Lyle
wanted to show because it really is an effective visualization, but unfortunately I
did not bring a copy with me.
Council Chair Furfaro: Well fortunately, we will have other presentations
as we move forward. So if you give me a second, I will move back to my table, and
we will go through some Q &A.
Ms. Brody: I do just want to say that there are several eyes on
Kauai right now as far as the Complete Streets efforts. As I mentioned before, we
have been publicized in several national publications and if you look at Maui's
resolution, they used ours as a guide. If you look at Honolulu's resolution that is
coming up this week, their Complete Streets Resolution, very similar to ours. So
Kauai is setting the road ahead, if you will, the street ahead for Complete Streets.
And I think it is something that we can all be very, very proud of.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. This question is for Marie and Lyle.
So in a budget session that we are going through at present, both in Planning and
in Public Works, were there any earmarks specifically earmarked for the purpose of
planning and evaluations and community outreach in the budgets that were
submitted this time around?
Mr. Tabata: For Public Works, the Roads Division, O &M has
moneys in there for extra signage and paint and calming devices. You will see in
CIP we have a number of projects that are slated ... in fact, they are all in the
procurement process for professional service. We have three of the listed projects
up there.
Council Chair Furfaro: Could you give us a sub - ledger of those dollars in
the near future that says what is taken from the capital summary and then just
give us a sub - ledger so we know what they are for in case there is some
discrepancies or valued engineering that would create a hurdle for you folks? If you
could do that, I would appreciate it.
Ms. Williams: In Planning I am aware that the budget proposal
includes continued funding for the new Transportation Planner, and the job
description for that planner does involve implementation of Complete Streets.
Council Chair Furfaro: But my next question is around that item, but have
we hired the Transportation Planner?
Ms. Williams: I am not part of that process, but I believe not yet.
Council Chair Furfaro: We will send that over. That is a not yet for almost
nine months. I will send that over as a question. And then just because I am
familiar with my hometown and all my daughters are Kilauea School graduates, for
an area like Kolo Road, as well as the Lighthouse Road, there are parts of the road
that actually have sidewalks now and there are parts of the road turning to Kilauea
Elementary that has sidewalks now. But where does the repair and maintenance
come in for existing sidewalks?
COUNCIL MEETING -26- April 11, 2012
Mr. Tabata: The budget for repair and maintenance comes out
of Building Division for sidewalks.
Council Chair Furfaro: Building Department.
Mr. Tabata: For sidewalks, yes.
Council Chair Furfaro: For sidewalks as well?
Mr. Tabata: Yes, because they do the forming and the cement.
They work hand -in -hand with Roads. Roads does a portion and Building does too.
Council Chair Furfaro: Because I just think as we expand it is important to
maintain what we have as well. Very good. Mr. Bynum, you have a question?
Mr. Bynum: Since we started the Environmental Task Force,
Lyle is a new member, yes?
Ms. Brody: Yes.
Mr. Bynum: Has he been a good member?
Ms. Brody: He has been an outstanding member.
Mr. Bynum: I just cannot contain myself because when I first
heard about the term "smart growth" from Ron Kouchi years ago, and I have been
to a bunch of these conferences, and at these conferences there are invariably these
workshops where the Complete Streets advocates do strategies to deal with those
old school engineers that are obstacles to these initiatives, and I just want to say
that I could praise everybody up there, but Lyle has just been amazing. Not only
did he ... he did not treat this assignment as oh, this is something I have to do. He
has become an enthusiastic supporter. He has educated himself and us about how
to pragmatically address these issues. I just could not be more pleased at
Mr. Tabata, Lyle, at your adoption, not just adoption but your enthusiastic
response. I met these guys like Dan Burden on bus tours, looking at these projects,
and always there is this topic "How do we deal with these old school engineers ?"
Well, Lyle is an old school engineer, but he has just been remarkable. I could praise
all of you, but Lyle, what a breath of fresh air.
Mr. Tabata: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: On that note, Bev, I know you need to have some
time to go to work. We are only on our second item for the day. When are you going
to give us another update because that is the purpose of this? This is an update.
Ms. Brody:
Council Chair Furfaro:
Ms. Brody:
Council Chair Furfaro:
Ms. Brody:
October.
When would you like one?
I would think every six months would be very nice.
Six months?
Yes.
Okay, we can, absolutely. So that would be June?
COUNCIL MEETING -27- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro
Ms. Brody:
Yes.
Yes, we would be happy to.
Council Chair Furfaro: So Members, I am going to open up couple more
questions, and we will have Mr. Kuali`i pose a question to you.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have two quick
questions, and before I say that I want to say thank you to all of you, very
important work. I really appreciate this progress report and look forward to them
every six months or so. And I know you have made a lot of progress and I am
excited about what progress is yet to come. As far as specific questions, on slide
no. 10 you show out in front of the old former Immaculate Conception School, the
painting. This was meant as an example, right? It is not necessarily what is
happening.
Ms. Brody: Correct.
Mr. Kuali`i: Because I would say before you do something like
this... it is a good example, but that street and that neighborhood is a very quiet,
hardly used neighborhood, and I think you would want the input of the people there
and how they actually use the street before you make a decision for them.
Ms. Brody: That is one of the reasons why we formed the
Complete Streets Education Committee, it is so that we can engage the community
to go out and do these presentations and talk to them and get their ideas. We are
also going to publish a lot of these morphs in the Garden Island newspaper so that
people can comment on them, and this is a public process. This is not something
that we are going to say this is the way it is going to be. So Public Works is very
much community minded as well. We want the engagement of the community.
This is purely an example.
Mr. Kuali`i: Yes. It is my elementary school, Immaculate
Conception, but it is not a school anymore. So there is not any high amount of
traffic in there anymore. The other slide was slide number... oh, maybe it does not
have a number, but Marie's last slide where you show a map and you mentioned
Puhi, the Puhi Road surfacing. So I am just curious, is that redline thicker in one
area and thinner in one area to designate two different things?
Ms. Williams: Yes. I am sorry, I do not have a close -up of my map
to see exactly what the key is, but that is just an example. I believe that it shows
where the bicycle route is, according to the State's bicycle plan, for example, and the
different classifications of the roads as well. It is just an example of how through
GIS we can bring a lot of different information together and to understand how
everything works together to improve transportation planning.
Mr. Kuali`i: And by the red line in the legend saying "proposed
shared roadway," that is something that is planned then. The blue line says
"underway," so we know Kaumuali`i highway, of course, is well on their way, but...
Mr. Tabata; So that red line is presently a project in the CIP,
which is the Puhi Whitetop Project. Presently the project only extends to Kaneka
Street, and we are working with DOT to get the entire road reclassified so that we
can utilize Federal funding or leverage the Federal funding available to extend from
Kaneka Street all the way to the Bypass Road. And we are fighting a good fight
right now with DOT.
COUNCIL MEETING -28- April 11, 2012
Mr. Kuali`i: So the only other thing I would say on that is so if
you look at that red line, if you completed the "p," what looks like a "p," it would be
interesting to have a loop where the neighbors... my parents live there, my brothers
live there, and they walk.
Mr. Tabata: So this extends out into the community college,
around to where Island School is, out to Kilohana, and comes back around. Yes and
so we would want to make the subdivision here accessible and then you connect to
Kaneka to get to the Middle School, and so you can draw from here also to feed up
and then the last subdivision where Dickie lives to feed up ... to eventually get to the
Middle School. But Safe Routes to School is primarily for elementary schools, but
we felt with the community college and a lot of the students living here and
eventually the community college is going to put housing up, it is a good place while
we already have a project in process to reprogram it to include all of our needs.
Mr. Kuali`i: So in fact that other piece, there are already
sidewalks there by the school, yes?
Mr. Tabata: Right, that is what the ... well, no not entirely. The
loop is only to a section, not all the way around.
Mr. Kuali`i: No, but by Chiefess.
Mr. Tabata: Oh yes.
Mr. Kuali`i: On that road. Okay thank you so much, keep up
the great work. Thank you, Chair.
Mr. Tabata: You are welcome.
Council Chair Furfaro: Before I do that, I do want to acknowledge Senator
Kouchi in the audience as he has worked through pieces with the recent State Act,
so thank you for being here, Senator Kouchi. Councilmember Nakamura.
Ms. Nakamura: I just wanted to acknowledge the work that you
have done. A resolution has no meaning unless you really do the work that it takes
to translate policy into action. So I appreciate the work that you have done and
especially the work with the County Design Standards and Manuals. That is what
is going to make a big difference. So I wanted to ask two questions. One has to do
with the CIP report. Maybe this might be a Jay question, but will that be part of
our CIP briefing when we talk about the budget?
Council Chair Furfaro: I think that is why I posed the question to Lyle.
Hopefully by the time we get to the CIP update, we will be able to have this
sub - ledger of projects that are specifically associated with the work for safe,
walkable streets.
Mr. Tabata: I can carve those out.
Ms. Nakamura: I was thinking the larger, the report that Marie
prepared for Planning, the Planning Department Report.
Council Chair Furfaro: Well, he is going to carve one out for CIP when we
get there. Do we have that understanding? Can you work with Marie on that?
COUNCIL MEETING -29- April 11, 2012
Mr. Tabata: Yes, but I think Chair and Councilmember
Nakamura, you are talking about the six -year plan?
Ms. Nakamura: Yes, the six -year plan. Can we get briefed on that
plan as a separate item?
Council Chair Furfaro: Absolutely and we usually do, and that is for the
Planning Director to pose that to us because the Planning Commission reviews this
six -year CIP. So we will send a correspondence over to that effect.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you. And the other one is as you are doing
the County Design Standards, the treatment of our rural areas in those standards
is something that maybe we can have a conversation off -line about that.
Mr. Tabata: Yes, we can. We have about six different
classifications of our roads.
Ms. Nakamura: Okay, that is good. Thank you very much for your
good work.
Council Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Chair. This is a wonderful, wonderful
report, and as Councilmember Nakamura pointed out, to go from words and
resolution to actual action and changes to the system is very difficult, and what you
have achieved in such a short time is really exemplary and unusual. So thank you
so much for your work. And I want to especially thank Get Fit Kauai because the
resources that you have provided to the County has made such a difference in the
County being able to move this whole policy forward, and accessing the experts like
Michael Moule and Dan Burden, I think, has been one of the keys, so thank you for
that. And also the participation in the HCPO Conference and the help there has
also increased the public awareness and the statewide awareness, so thank you for
that. I had a question on actually the CIP six -year evaluation and I am so glad that
that is part of the policy implementation framework. In this checklist that was
mentioned and I presume it is a list that actually exists now or is it being put into
formation?
Ms. Williams: It is a list that actually was developed with the
assistance of Mr. Moule when he came here, and what we have been doing through
Get Fit Kauai with our Built Environment Task Force since we have so many
stakeholders, we spent some time reviewing the list and improving it to making it
more suitable for Kauai. And so now the next step is to finalize this list and this
would probably mean Planning working more deeply with Public Works and making
sure that the list makes sense, and then tying in tools such as GIS to make the
process easier, more simple.
Ms. Yukimura: So will the list also give guidance on what projects
should be taken off the list?
Ms. Williams: Right now, the list does not do that. It is more of a
means of determining if any project that touches the road is a suitable match for
implementing some kind of Complete Streets treatment, but it is not that
sophisticated yet where it prioritizes or eliminates projects.
COUNCIL MEETING -30- April 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: The CIP list represents a priority list theoretically.
It represents a plan of what we are going to do with our Road System and
Sewers ... I do not know if sewers is on it. Yes, all CIP is. And many of the lists have
been made without any "smart growth" analysis or Complete Streets analysis. And
I guess I am looking for a Complete Streets analysis for the macro system and I am
not sure what that looks like, but I do know that if you are really talking about
Complete Streets, you are not just talking about in -town roads, and so I am just
trying to find out how you determine which major highways and improvements are
actually meeting Complete Streets theory and policy and which ones are not.
Council Chair Furfaro: Is it possible we can hold that for CIP, and Marie, I
am depending on you to take this message back to Planning because the CIP
presentation will be in the Engineering Division, but the input to the CIP comes
from the Planning Commissioners. So please take that message back. When we go
to CIP, I would like Planning to be available to us as well.
Ms. Yukimura: And actually I think the whole Charter provisions
regarding the six -year CIP mainly were intended to connect our land use growth
plans with the CIP.
Council Chair Furfaro: That is exactly what it is for. That is why the
Planning Commissioners are involved. But we can have this theory and dialogue
here for a long time and we are only on our second item for the day.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, Chair, thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: We have CIP coming up in the very near future.
Bev, if you would like us to make contact with you on that CIP and it fits in your
schedule, we would be glad to have you come over and we will give you notice.
Ms. Brody: Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: So I just have one other question.
Council Chair Furfaro: Go right ahead.
Ms. Yukimura: On page 11 of the Get Fit presentation, it is your
what's next list. I think it is a great list and my request is that there be an
additional next step if your committee agrees to it, and it has actually been on the
horizon. It is monitoring the DOT Long -range Land Transportation Plan. I know
that it is part of Marie's presentation and the Planning Department, but I also feel
that this is an area where citizen input and monitoring is going to be so important.
The way that your group and the public at -large has had impact on the adoption of
the Complete Streets, the Safe Routes to School, the adoption of major public policy
has been very impactful, and so I just feel like this is an area that there needs to be
public input and monitoring.
Ms. Brody: Okay.
Council Chair Furfaro: And Bev for a follow -up on that, both Vice Chair
Yukimura and myself have written those very concerns to the DOT about that
involvement level, and we would be glad to share some information with you there.
But she is absolutely correct in us as a community and in particular this Council
wanted to be involved in that Long -range Transportation package.
Ms. Brody: Very good.
COUNCIL MEETING -31- April 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Chair. That is all I have in questions.
But I would just like to give a great big hand to the team and to the report.
Council Chair Furfaro: Bev, when I see you later, I will give you a big hug.
You have done an outstanding job and believe it or not September will be here
before you know it for your next update.
Ms. Brody: October. No, September? Okay.
Council Chair Furfaro: I am saying September.
Ms. Brody: Okay, very good.
Council Chair Furfaro: I think the last time I read I control the agenda.
Ms. Brody: Okay, I am sorry, you are right. September it is,
perfect.
Council Chair Furfaro: To all of you, wonderful. I am going to see if there
is any public testimony and then we need to move on to our salary resolution. Is
there any public testimony? Mr. Mickens. Bev, thank you again.
Ms. Brody: You are welcome. Thank you.
GLENN MICKENS: Thank you, Jay, for the record Glenn Mickens. I
am trying to make this very brief. I completely support physical fitness starting
with our kids and into adulthood. And I applaud Bev and her group for their
efforts. I have jogged and walked here on Kauai for 22 years, intend to do my four
miles every day each day. I do not need a $105 million multi -use path to do it on.
As Mel once said too, the neighborhood works just fine. How do you get the kids
today to get off the computers, the video games, their cell phones, and use their legs
to walk or bike to school when school might be a few miles away? I did not need a
bus or car to get to my schools. I walked or biked. But how do you change the total
mindset and habits of not only the kids, but the parents to make fitness a habit. We
get more and more gimmicks, iPads, etcetera to prevent these fitness programs
from happening. When we talk about cost for this project in communities all over
the island, sidewalks, etcetera, where will the money come from? It is going to
involve... and what Bev said about putting a stripe down the road, no, that paint is
not going to cost much, but it is going to involve a heck of a lot more than painting a
stripe down the road. Even that picture she showed there had a bicycle. How are
you going to keep the bicyclist separated from the other toddlers and the people that
are going to be walking on the path? You are going to have problems, obviously.
This Complete Streets Project, is it just another ready -fire -aim? Know who will
participate in this project before it is built. The bike routes were put along our
highways and basically were never used enough to make it worthwhile. So again I
applaud Bev and the people for trying to do this, but until you can somehow get the
people's mindset to say hey, we are going to be physically fit, whether it is the food
that you eat and everything to be able to keep your weight down as my friend here
does all the time, go swimming or whatever that exercise. Somebody did not
mandate that you go out there, Dickie, probably and say hey, you have to do this.
You find it as a habit and do it, whether it came from your parents or what. But
anyway, I want Bev to know that I am not opposed to the program. I just want to
see something done to be able to implement the program, look into the future, the
total plan of it. Thank you, Jay.
COUNCIL MEETING -32- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Glenn, I am sure she will appreciate your
comments about supporting her efforts here. Thank you very much. Ken, come
right up.
KEN TAYLOR: Chair and Members of the Council, my name is
Ken Taylor. I have had the privilege of working with Bev for the last three years
and I go to a lot of meetings, and a lot of times you are at a meeting and it is like
being in a room watching the paint dry on the wall. When you are at a meeting
with Bev, the paint is jumping off the wall. She has done a tremendous job, but
without the buy -in of the Mayor and the Council and all of the departments working
closely with her and working on this process, we would not be where we are at
today, and I have no reason to believe that the Mayor, the Council, and the
department heads will not continue to work with her, and we will see a lot more
progress. And I think the real winners of all of this will be the people in the
community, and especially the young people coming up now and in future
generations because this is going to really enhance development as it takes place,
and if I have a concern at this point, I understand you have to start someplace, and
the issue has been started, but I am concerned that we are not addressing it along
with the existing neighborhoods. And I know that this does not have to take place
on every street, but on major arteries throughout the existing built community, we
need to also move forward with making provisions for this Complete Street process.
At this point in time, I do not see that that has happened and it is an area where we
have to expand in. I hope that in the very near future we will parallel that with
where we are headed with everything that we saw in today's wonderful
presentation. So thank you very much.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much, Ken. Senator Kouchi.
SENATOR RONALD KOUCHI: For the record Ron Kouchi. And you have
heard this or maybe you have not, but I did not come here for this item, but since I
am here. I just came to visit initially and say hi, but I would let you know with this
item on the agenda and this particular slide of the almost 200 bills we moved out
yesterday, one of them is the Safe Routes Bill and so the State is very aware of the
partnership in trying to work together with the schools. And I know
Representative Morikawa, the Mayor, and I participated in the walk in Koloa. I
know Representative Kawakami did the one in Kapa`a, and all of you have been
going to the different initial walking routes that have occurred, and I did want you
to know that the bill is still moving and hopefully will be passed by next month.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much for bringing us that news. I
am not going to let him go. I see your hand. I think that reference to Bev and the
paint jumping all over the building, I think we need to know with her when you
paint something, you know exactly where you left off and where you have to start
again, and she is on it. So thank you for that work, Mr. Kouchi. You have the floor,
Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Ron, two things really quick. First of all, just
before you came in I was talking about you and what I was saying was that I first
heard the term "smart growth" from you years ago, and in discussions we had I
became a convert, so thank you for that. But my question is this bill that you just
mentioned. When I saw the bill I said this is a great bill, but the County has been
asking for a portion of the traffic fines forever and I told Bev this is a great effort,
but no way it is going to happen this year.
Senator Kouchi: It is still moving, though.
COUNCIL MEETING -33- April 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum: Is it done?
Senator Kouchi: No, it is not done. This was the last hurdle. Now
starting next week, the next two weeks will be a time of conference and so there will
be negotiations. The main thing is it is alive and eligible to get to conference to be
considered for final passage by May 3. But it is still alive.
Mr. Bynum: I told her it would be nothing short of a miracle if it
passed this year. Would you agree with that comment?
Senator Kouchi: I just would say that we are all aware of it and in
particular I am not sure if Representative Tokioka has gone on the walk, .but three
of the four of us I know for sure have participated. We are aware of it and we are
putting forth our best effort. But I know that other members of the Senate have
participated in their communities, and so you are having great outreach statewide
and by having people showing up and seeing how it works and having the kids
lobbying you directly that is certainly a very powerful lobby. We will see what
happens, but if it made it this far then there is hope that it would be happening if
not now, pretty soon. And Councilmember Yukimura taught me about "smart
growth" first.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you for your support, Ron, thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Senator, I think Vice Chair Yukimura wants to
reminisce on learning "smart growth" together (inaudible).
Senator Kouchi: On another agenda item.
Council Chair Furfaro: So you have the floor.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Thanks for stopping by, Senator. We
appreciate all the work that you and our Kauai delegation have been doing over
there in Honolulu on our behalf. You have, for a long time, been a "smart growth"
advocate and I have always been appreciative of your openness to learning this new
concept, which is now not so new. But anyway on the agenda item actually, I
wanted to ask your help with the State Department of Transportation.
Senator Kouchi: I have read the emails and I understand the
request. I believe that this will now be agenda related to say that at 5:30 p.m. to
7 p.m. if you are live streaming, which I believe you are doing now, the Legislative
team will be at Wilcox Elementary School and I believe Deputy Jadine Urasaki will
be there with Ray McCormick, and so we can certainly have that discussion there.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you very much.
Senator Kouchi: But I know what the request is.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, and for the audience it is about the Long -range
Land Transportation Plan that is being updated. The last time it was done was
1997, when "smart growth" was not anywhere on the agenda. And so this is the
opportunity to really create a transportation plan for the future for this island, and
it has so many different impacts from impacts on the visitor industry to our
business community, who has to travel the roads, to our commuters and families.
Anyway, it is a big impact effort, and so thank you for your awareness of it, and I
just want everyone else to know that this is the time to participate.
COUNCIL MEETING -34- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: At present since we are only on our second item
today and if we want to get to Wilcox by 5 o'clock...
Senator Kouchi: I will politely leave, Mr. Chair.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Kouchi I want to say thank you very much for
making those arrangements for having the State agencies here. It is very much
appreciated and I also want to thank you for staying on top of our communications
to your office recently. You have been on top of it and a great conduit for us. Thank
you.
Senator Kouchi: A better politician would take the credit you just
gave me, but all the credit for this particular meeting should go to
Representative Kawakami. His office has taken the lead, has issued all of the press
releases, emails, and so Representative Kawakami's Office has done a great job in
setting it up and we all appreciate that effort.
Council Chair Furfaro
Senator Kouchi:
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. Thank you for being here.
Since we have now taken testimony on this, we will have an agenda item in
September.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: I have a motion and a second to receive, all those in
favor, signify by saying aye.
The motion to receive C 2012 -70 for the record was then put, and
unanimously carried.
Council Chair Furfaro: The next item, since we are coming up on the lunch
period, I would like to offer testimony for those that would like to give testimony up
front after I read the bill in the event that they cannot come back after lunch. Let
us read the next communication C 2012 -74.
There being no objections, item C 2012 -74 was taken out of order.
C 2012 -74 Communication (03/01/2012) from the Chairperson, Salary
Commission, transmitting the Salary Commission's Resolution No. 2012-1,
Resolution Amending Resolution No. 2011 -1 Relating To The Salaries Of Certain
Officers And Employees Of The County of Kauai.
Council Chair Furfaro: I see members of the County's team here, I see
commissioners here, and I would like to be able to offer testimony first. Charlie, are
you here for this item?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
CHARLES IONA: Good afternoon, Chair and Members of the
Council, Charles Iona. I am here today, again, as an independent, also as a
commissioner, but not as a commission as a whole. I came before this body last
week with the members that were present regarding this resolution, and I
COUNCIL MEETING -35- April 11, 2012
explained that it was in my view that there are some parts of this mechanics that
makes it hard, and I know I will sound very selfish when I say that I can only talk
about one position as the appointing body for the Police Chief with the Police
Commission, and that would be somewhat unfair to the rest, and I was hoping other
commission members and /or anyone in the position of appointing their department
head that they would be here to lay some testimony. So unfortunately and I see
some individuals here, but I can only say that... and what I failed to mention the
last time, I too was sort of trapped in this salary situation as a medical examiner
investigator for the City & County of Honolulu where they took all the professionals
such as myself and they lumped us in with the clerical workers. What that did, it
did not allow us any movement under that bargaining unit. And I see the same
thing happened and I applaud the Salary Commission, but I still think that there is
room that needs to be moved or looked into because you have some department
heads that are very deserving, but because when I gave testimony in February
before the Salary Commission they felt that because of the furlough issues and the
non - movement of pay for the bargaining unit employees, what I wanted to say is
those employees were en masse, and yes, you have a difficult time when you are
looking at a larger group of individuals. And that is not to say that they are not
deserving, they are deserving. So I know today in front of you this resolution, this
body can only accept, reject part or in whole, and what I am looking at, I humbly
ask this body to reject the resolution deemed in whatever shape or form, whether it
be in whole or in part, because what happens with us especially, and again I refer to
the Police Department having been involved not on the hiring stages, but on a
contract of the second stage of the Police Chief's salary. We are required to every
year evaluate him, and we put demands on this department head, and he
continually meets or exceeds those goals. And by holding him back at this time, I
made mention the last time, as the senior Police Chief in the State of Hawaii, he
will be the lowest paid individual in the State of Hawaii.
Council Chair Furfaro: Keep going that is your first three minutes. Go
right ahead, you have another three minutes, Charlie.
Mr. Iona: Thank you, sir. And because of that when we were
asked in 2009 to please consider a freeze, yes, we did consider it, and yes, the body
voted on it that we would go along with it with some exceptions that we could
revisit this, not knowing that it would be for a period of time that brings us up to
this date. So I am hoping and praying that this body sees this argument. I know
the last time I was here testifying it affects many other department heads, and
again I can only say from the commission's standpoint as the appointing authority
of the Police Chief, we ask of him, he continues to provide, he continues to exceed,
and it is going to get to a point that we are going to continue to ask and if he does
not recognize any raises, then I think we are going to have a problem with that,
especially even with an employment contract in place. It would be very, very
difficult for us at that point. Thank you and I am open for any questions that you
may have at this time.
Council Chair Furfaro: Any questions for Commissioner Iona? Vice Chair
Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Commissioner Iona. We always
appreciate your input. My question is you mentioned that the Chief is what? The
most senior but the lowest paid?
Mr. Iona: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Most senior by age or...
COUNCIL MEETING -36- April 11, 2012
Mr. Iona:
One is by experience, two is yes, by age.
Ms. Yukimura: Because I am just wondering what the criteria is
for...
Mr. Iona: If you look at the total years of service that he put
into law enforcement, especially the criteria that needs to be met to become a Police
Chief, his criteria has exceeded most of the other police chiefs as it is right now.
Ms. Yukimura: You are talking about criteria to measure
performance?
Mr. Iona: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, so I think that we do want to achieve the
original goal of the Salary Commission, which is pay equity, to be competitive in
attracting the best candidates for our department level positions. We had some
delays due to the economic situation, and I guess the question is can we wait one
more year with the Salary Commission doing its salary study because that is what I
am...
Mr. Iona: As an individual in all honesty, if you do wait
another year, the rest of the counties, their police chiefs are ready for bumps. So
the disparity between the rest of the police chiefs, the Police Chief will be probably
in last place for a while.
Ms. Yukimura: Do you...
Mr. Iona: Because this... and I am sorry to cut you off, but
just with the scheduled increase that was supposed to go into effect, he would be at
about the same range with the Big Island. So those two in the counties would be
the lowest. The only thing with the Big Island is because they have a subsidy
program where they subsidize the officers for purchasing their own cars. And with
that put into the package, that is what draws the salary or the entire package for
Chief Kubojiri to about 121– 122.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay.
Council Chair Furfaro: I am going to ask for other testimony or questions.
Mr. Chang.
Mr. Chang: Good afternoon, Charlie. For the record, when you
first came up you were stating yourself as an individual, not as a...
Mr. Iona: Yes, right.
Mr. Chang: Okay, I just wanted to clarify that that is No. 1.
No. 2, I think what is very important for clarification when we were mentioning the
most senior within the counties, I think also —and please correct me if I am wrong —
when we are talking about most senior, you are talking also about the most senior
on- the -job per the County.
Mr. Iona: Well, I would have to say on- the -job I believe...
COUNCIL MEETING -37- April 11, 2012
Mr. Chang: In other words, the other Chiefs were appointed or
we have a fairly new Chief Louis Kealoha in County of Honolulu.
Mr. Iona: Right.
Mr. Chang: A fairly new Chief on the Island of Maui. I do not
know how long the Chief on the Big Island has been there, but I think what you are
saying also is per the County, not necessarily age or experience, but per the County
being physically the Chief of the County, I think does not the Chief also have that?
Mr. Iona: Yes, I believe so in 2007, yes.
Mr. Chang: Because I think that point is also very important
because that establishes your tenure, if you will, on that County. So if that is true, I
think that is also very important to make note of being that given the experience on
a given County that also has some sort of merit within the discussion.
Mr. Iona: I would state for the record I may be off with the
Big Island because I believe Harry might have a year to two years more than
Chief Perry. But as far as the years of service with law enforcement and the levels
obtained within the ranks when he was with HPD and then coming over here, and
age -wise, he is pretty much the senior Police Chief right now.
Mr. Chang: Okay, thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Charles, thanks for being here. I made comments
last term and it probably looks like we will not get to discussion until after lunch. I
do not know if you will be here, but I am going to have process questions, and it
appears to me that we either have to allow everyone on this list raises or no one,
and that there is not any mechanism available to the Council to say well this one
okay, this one okay, this one no. In case you are not back here after lunch, because
of the way this resolution is structured, we may not have the options that some of
us would like.
Mr. Iona: I think when I started my testimony I stated the
fact that I would sound very selfish because I can only talk about that, and I
realized that with other department heads involved, yes, you are correct in that it
does affect all those departments as well.
Mr. Bynum: Thanks.
Mr. Iona: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. I am going to ask for other
testimony from people before we break for lunch. I see Civil Defense here. Are you
here for this agenda item? No? I see the Prosecutor's Office here. Are you here for
this item? Come right up.
SHAYLENE ISERI- CARVALHO, Prosecuting Attorney: Good morning,
Shaylene Iseri - Carvalho, Prosecuting Attorney. I had briefly spoken the last time
this item was on the agenda. I do have testimony that ... but I will summarize what
is in my two -page, single- spaced testimony here. I think it is very important to go
back because the only Salary Report that we got was back on June 8, 2007, and that
was the only time that there was an evaluation that had been done regarding
COUNCIL MEETING -38- April 11, 2012
salaries looking at the parity levels of the different counties, the different types of
job descriptions, experience, different types of unique skills and qualifications for
different types of positions, even though in the end I believe for expediency's sake it
was that they had decided to just lump everyone in one group. But if you look
through the February 8, 2007 Report, the goal of the Commission was to provide a
salary system that reflected duties of elected and appointed officials, and had the
confidence and support of the public. And I think that is a very important ancillary
statement to the goal of providing a fair system. They looked at the parity with
other government employees in the State about the necessity of retaining not only
incumbents, but also recruiting and retaining new employees or being attractive so
that we could have the higher and best qualified applicants for government
positions. There were numerous testimonies that were taken back in 2007 by the
former Prosecuting Attorney, the County Attorney, the Mayor himself, other
department heads about their additional duties and unique qualifications and I
believe even with respect to the Police Chief and Fire Chief.
One of the other goals in the Salary Report was that they mentioned that our
community has expectations from its government and rightfully expects quality
cost - effective services based on skills, experience, and qualifications, but under that
there was a subheading of Performance -Based Pay. I think it is really important to
look at the Police Chief's evaluations, which I am here testifying in support of public
safety. They also had decided at the time to look at the different levels, of maybe
not grouping all of the department heads in one arena, but looking at
administrative, legislative, or persons that are responsible for public safety.
When you look at the level of experience and qualifications that are needed
for the Police Chief, it does involve a varying degree of unique type of skills.
Firearms training, he has to be... ensure that he is qualified to accurately shoot from
different varying distances every year. He has to be certified for that. He has to
take terrorism training that is required by the Federal Government. He has to do
extensive background checks on himself as well as seek qualifications to have access
to different types of sensitive documents on the Federal, State, and County levels.
He also is —and I do not know if many know this —he is also the coroner of Kauai,
and so he has to have the medical expertise that no other County is required to
have. And the relationships that he has to build with all of the other agencies,
again on the County /State level, FBI, U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Marshalls, ICE,
Department of Public Safety, the Attorney General's Office, and the list goes on and
on and on. I think when we looked at the different salary resolutions that began
back on June 8, 2007 with the Report that amended the April 18, 2007 Report,
which was the initial salary structure that they staggered the salary raises because,
again, that was based on the testimony provided by the Honorable Mayor Bryan
Baptiste in his quest to not only retain incumbents, but attract highly qualified
people because there was testimony at that time by all levels at Administration that
it was difficult filling those high level positions, even Water, even County
Engineers, the Prosecutor's Office, the County Attorney's Office, etcetera. The
Prosecutor was an elected position and still is at this point; however, there was
recognition by the attorney that you had to have a minimum or a floor level in order
to even compete with the private sector.
On August 25, 2009 in fact there was a separation and a distinction between
Public Safety and actually the Prosecuting Attorney's Office was placed in a
different category and taken out of the group. I would like to add Public Safety to
incorporate the Fire Department as well as the Police Department, and the reason
is because we all work collaboratively together to protect and address the health,
safety, welfare issues of the County. As Councilmember Kuali`i had mentioned at
the last hearing, there were four times that the Fire Chief had come up and all four
COUNCIL MEETING -39- April 11, 2012
times the raises had been put off. Yet in the meantime the government continued
to grow. There continued to be higher level executives that were appointed under
the Administration that was approved by this Council. And I guess my philosophy
is that you should take care of your own people first. These are people that had
been with us that have provided excellent evaluations, both the Fire Chief, Deputy
Chief, and their counterparts, and yet we had decided that they were not worthy
enough to give the raises, but we hired multiple administrative, high level positions,
and in fact I believe I was watching the meeting yesterday (I believe it was
yesterday) where there was a request by the Administration for two additional
HR executive positions at $100,000.00 and yet we are looking at the members that
we have that have provided excellent service to this County, and we also need to
look at the fact that we spent $50,000.00. There was an allocation of $50,000.00
just to hire a high level /top level Chief. And then once he was in our house, did we
provide the necessary nurturing and aloha to that Chief once he was in our house?
And then in fact, had other people that got salaries in fact higher than his Deputy
Chief that came after he was already in the house. So let us take care of our own
`ohana. Our last promotions at the Police Department cost the County $42,000.00.
We cannot afford to have these promotions made and not have the support with
salaries, especially if the goal of the Salary Commission was to have performance -
based pay and to rightfully keep and retain incumbents.
There is involved in this a quid pro quo. I think there is an implicit type of
contract. When there was that salary distribution of four different grades dating
back from 2007 that there was...
Council Chair Furfaro: Excuse me, Shay, I am letting you...
Ms. Iseri - Carvalho: This is the last sentence.
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay.
Ms.Iseri- Carvalho: That there was the expectation, just a little bit
expectation because the Chief did move from Oahu to settle and purchase a house
here. There was a sense of appreciation and expectation that there would be some
salary that would correlate as the years went on that would be of a level that was at
least on parity with the other Police Chiefs. And so that is my position that there
should be a separate level for Public Safety given the unique skills, and I am
available to answer any questions. I also have...
Council Chair Furfaro: Shay, let me ask you. I am of the impression that
Jake might be making a PowerPoint?
Ms. Iseri - Carvalho: He has two slides and that is different from what I
am testifying on.
Council Chair Furfaro: Is that on the Police Chief or is it on something
different.
Chief. JAKE DELAPLANE, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney: It is on the Police
Council Chair Furfaro: Why do we not do your slides and I will give you
the six minutes. Introduce yourself as the speaker.
COUNCIL MEETING -40- April 11, 2012
Mr. DelaPlane: Jake DeplaPlane, First Deputy Prosecuting
Attorney. You heard Charlie come up here and talk a little bit about the disparity
in pay between the Police Chiefs throughout all the islands, and also I think it was
briefly mentioned about this salary inversion problem. So what I wanted to do is at
least present that to you visually. I provided the Council with a couple of charts,
but as we have been requested in the past, I would like to bring the pretty pictures
here to you folks. This is a chart that shows the salaries of the different islands. As
you can see, Kauai currently has a significantly lower salary for its Police Chief
than the other islands. I think that something that Shay mentioned earlier is quite
telling here. Even though Kauai is smaller in population, our case numbers are
smaller as far as arrests, and then cases that end up going to prosecution, Kauai,
because of its remote location, there are certain qualities that the Police Chief has
to have, certain qualifications, certain types of training that the Police Chief has to
have here that they do not have to have anywhere else, and I think a great example
that she gave was that he is the coroner of our County. And so both the Police Chief
and then all of the police officers are deputy coroners, and so they determine
preliminary cause of death whenever there is an unattended death on the island.
That really is a big responsibility that they shoulder that the other islands do not
have to shoulder. And so when you talk about parity and the disparity here
between Kauai and the other islands, I think it is really evident when you look at
the chart and see the Maui Police Chief is getting nearly $30,000.00 more per year
than the Police Chief on Kauai.
The next slide here, and actually it is cut off at the top here with the way the
projector is, but that top badge that you see there at the 128740 mark, that actually
is a lieutenant, the highest averaging pay and that was to lieutenants, and this was
last year. This information is from the Finance Clerk over at the Police
Department. But what you can see here is a significant inversion problem because
if you look at this chart representing the average salaries of the different ranks last
year, you have the Deputy Chief down here at $98,000, the Chief at $107,000.
Those are fixed salaries. They do not get overtime. The reason that you have this
big inversion problem is because you do have Standards of Conduct pay and also
overtime that are allowed to the subordinates of the Police Chief and the Deputy
Chief. So you have regular police officers that were ... let us see, four regular police
officers that averaged $113,000.00 last year. Captains averaged $113,704, a
detective $114.831, sergeant $121,963, assistant chiefs $125,357, and then up there
at the top lieutenants at $128,740. Of course this is with overtime built in there
and I know the question may come up, "Well, why do you include overtime here ?"
Well, the overtime figures go towards your benefits, it goes towards your retirement
benefits as well, so I think it is a fair comparison when you look at it to say, "Hey,
this is a big problem and this is not right."
Something else I would like to point out too. Here you have the Deputy Chief
at the bottom rung here, all the way below the line at $98,748 here. Of course that
is a position that is appointed by the Police Chief, and when we talk about what
the —and Ms. Yukimura pointed this out earlier —is that what we are talking about
here is parity. It is parity, it is attracting the right people, and it is retaining good
people. And so when you look up here up at the top level, your Assistant Chiefs,
those are going to be your more senior officers, your sergeants, your detectives, and
even your lieutenants. What incentive would they have to take an appointment as
Deputy Chief if they are going from a high level of pay with a lot of opportunity to
participate in overtime and go all the way down more than $25,000.00 to $98,000.00
and be shouldered with more responsibility? So it is just not logical and it does not
make much sense. So I wanted to provide these two to the Council just to give you a
visual representation of what we are talking about as far as the disparity and pay
between the other islands and also within the department itself.
COUNCIL MEETING -41- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro:
Mr. DelaPlane:
Jake, we have a question for you.
Yes.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you, Jake, for presenting this data, which is
the first time I have seen it. I was just wondering, was this information presented
to the Salary Commission?
Mr. DelaPlane: The inversion problem originally, that was a big
focus of the Salary Commission's findings. And I think that overall in the 2007 and
2008 Salary Commission findings there is a big section in there that talks about
inversion across all departments.
Ms. Nakamura: This version, was this recently, prior to the Salary
Commission sending this over to the Council, did you have an opportunity to
provide this testimony to them?
Mr. DelaPlane: I did not provide the testimony, but the information
was provided to the Salary Commission.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo?
Mr. Rapozo: Jake, thank you for the information. Am I to
assume that those are averages, so some would be higher and some would be lower.
Mr. DelaPlane: Yes.
Mr. Rapozo: So you took basically the highest of that category,
averaged it out, so there are actually some officers that made more than $113,004
and so forth.
Mr. DelaPlane: Right and there are some officers that made
significantly less, and so these are just snapshots of the highest level, the highest
four or five officers in that level and what they are averaging.
Mr. Rapozo: Okay, and that was back when the Salary
Commission contracted the firm to do the study originally. That was the concern, it
was the inversion issue, and that is what they tried to address, and I believe they
did. So we just have to finish out their recommendations. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: KipuKai, you have the floor.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Chair. Aloha and mahalo, Shay and
Jake. Just a simple question on your other slide (inaudible), the Hawaii salary.
Earlier Mr. Iona said that there was something about a vehicle subsidy and that
would in fact put that Chief's salary up to $122,000. Do you know about that? Can
you confirm that?
Mr. DelaPlane: I do not believe that the vehicle allocations were
added into these numbers, and so my guess is that that would be correct. If you
have the sheet that I provided that has the chart on the front, under subsection (2)
there is a footnote that says "Attempting to compare State of Hawaii Police Chief
positions to national `norms' was not done." Again, I know that is a little bit off
COUNCIL MEETING -42- April 11, 2012
point on your question, but as far as the ... this did not really look nationally. This
was just within the islands, and the relevant pay for the Police Chiefs was added in;
however, any of the vehicle subsidies were not a part of the calculation that I gave
here in this chart. I believe only Honolulu and the Big Island even have those
subsidies available.
Mr. Kuali`i: Yes, but clearly it is compensation to the Chief.
Mr. DelaPlane: Sure, it is a benefit that should be included. This
actually should be adjusted upward for Honolulu (inaudible).
Mr. Kuali`i: Yes, so the degree of the difference between Kauai
and the rest of the Chiefs would be a steeper slope then.
Mr. DelaPlane: Yes, it would be an even steeper arc there.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Thanks for this presentation. Just to understand
the numbers, like the officer at $113,000, you are saying that is the average of all
the officers?
Mr. DelaPlane: No, it is an average of the top four officers, and so
they are in the chart that accompanies this. The graph is a visual representation of
what is in the chart here. But you will see a little equal sign under the position
title.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you for sharing that. I think there are going
to be some police officers out there who are saying...
Mr. DelaPlane: "Hey, wait a second."
Mr. Bynum: ...wait, wait, or members of the public that think
the regular police officer's average salary is $113,000.
Mr. DelaPlane: Sure.
Mr. Bynum: Those are the high end, right?
Mr. DelaPlane: Right, and we are talking about in each of these it
is the highest between three and five officers, and we took an average of the highest
between three and five officers.
Mr. Bynum: Just wanted that clarification, thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura?
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, you are suggesting that the only way to
address the inversion problem is to raise the Chiefs' salaries, and I do think that
there is substantial justification for raising it, actually all the department head
salaries. But could there not also be some other methods for addressing the
inversion problem?
COUNCIL MEETING -43- April 11, 2012
Mr. DelaPlane: I am sure there are plenty of methods that could be
used to address the inversion problem. I think that raising the Police Chief's salary
for a number of reasons is proper, like you said. But I think that raising his salary
certainly...it levels out this line here when you are talking about parity on an
islandwide level and then again here. I think it certainly helps this problem. It
may not be the only solution, but it certainly is a fairly easy solution to a
complicated problem.
Ms. Yukimura: I mean especially if you are including overtime. Is
that normally the way salaries are analyzed by including overtime?
Mr. DelaPlane: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: You are sure about that?
Mr. DelaPlane: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Because I think actually just looking at salaries is
the way to do it. And then the issue of overtime is a whole other issue as we have
learned from pension spiking and that kind of thing. And then the other question
is ... the setting of salaries especially in a large organization is quite complex because
you have to set it not just based on the Police Department but also based on the
Mayor and all the other department heads. I do not know if the Prosecuting
Attorney... Shay, you were saying that Public Safety Department Heads should
have higher salaries than other Department Heads?
Ms. Iseri - Carvalho: I did not say higher salaries. I think that they
should be considered based on their additional qualifications that they have. Other
department heads do need qualifications too, licenses.
Ms. Yukimura: Right.
Ms.Iseri- Carvalho: I am saying that it should be considered and
actually I am saying that if you look at the Salary Report on June 8, 2007, it says,
"Generally department heads with public safety responsibilities and those who
must hold professional certifications are paid more than department heads without
these qualifications." That is from the Salary Report.
Ms. Yukimura: Right, right, so yes, it is a consideration laterally,
vertically, and also in terms of the budget, and the nature of the community, and
the rank and file and the salaries available to them. It is all a very complex issue of
setting salaries.
Ms. Iseri - Carvalho: And I think you also need to consider that officers
on all of the islands... because they are one agency, no matter what island you get
paid, your SRs are the same for police officers when they are negotiated, whereas all
the department levels are all different.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, and I think the Salary Commission does take
into account size of the community served, the kinds of... serve differential kinds
of...between communities in terms of setting salaries, both at the department head
level and at the rank and file level.
COUNCIL MEETING -44- April 11, 2012
Ms. Iseri - Carvalho: All I can tell you is that the only report that was
provided was the June 8, 2007 report and those considerations are not in the report.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes.
Ms. Iseri - Carvalho: They may have considered it. I am just going off of
what the report says.
Ms. Yukimura: Well, I think they are about ready to do another
report and that is where your input would be very important. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Any more questions of the presentation made? If
not, I am going to ask for other speakers. Thank you very much. Ken and Glenn,
are you anticipating speaking now because we are going to... good, okay, we are
going to break for lunch after this testimony. You have the floor.
ANNE PUNOHU: I will be quick. Just like Ron I was here and was
not expect ... I am sorry, my name is Anne Punohu, and I was not going to speak on
this, but I will be as quick as possible. I am just a common person here. I am not
involved in the County. I am only going to speak to my own personal experience as
a member of this community, and I can tell you when you are talking about equity,
it is very important to me, and public safety is very important to me, and not only
myself but many other people in the community, especially when we are talking
about the situation of the Police Chief and salaries and all this, and all the
technicalities may be way beyond my understanding. However, I am only wanting
to say that the general public needs confidence in its leadership, especially when it
comes to the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, and even going into other salary matters
such as our teachers. We lose them too with pay equity and all of this. I remember
a long time ago when this Council was the lowest paid Council in the State and
many of us stepped forward to say that we believed that that was a disparity that
needed to be addressed. But it is a little better than it was, a little better, and we
stepped forward to try and support you folks to at least get a little bit more equity
and parity within the rest of the State. The situation in our County is very, very
different and unique among the rest of the islands. We have some of the highest
rates of domestic violence, suicide, and also other issues that are higher per capita
than on the other islands. I want to say that I think that it is fair that in the
situation of the Police Chief, as well as others, Fire Chief, and ... I really agree with
what was said here from both previous speakers that we need to address the
situation, and there needs to be more equity and parity between what ours is paid
and the rest of the State is paid. Because even though Honolulu has over a million
people in it, we have different situations on Kauai that require unique abilities for
all of us, including everyone of you sitting in the chair, that is why you are sitting
there. We elected you because each of you have special qualities that we feel
deserved compensation. I only ask that the general public be given the support of
everyone here to bring us the confidence that we will be able to retain a Police
Chief, a Fire Chief, etcetera here that has good qualifications and that will stay
here and hang out with us for a while, and we do not have to go through a million
Police Chiefs or a million Fire Chiefs. And so that is all I have to say. It is very
simple and now time for lunch, aloha.
Council Chair Furfaro: Anne, I want to thank you for your last comment
because I think something that people have missed in grading salaries is ... it is a
very, very challenging situation to invest in new people and there is a learning
curve while you are on the job and so forth, but your last comment is very well
received when you said it is also about retention. All that chart tells me is our most
senior officers who qualify for the overtime pay and premium pay, they have no
COUNCIL MEETING -45- April 11, 2012
desire, as Jake pointed out, with their years of service to want to take a cut to be a
leader, and that has been part of the problem. But key to this is being able to
recruit and retain. And I heard you loud and clear over the last five years when we
did the salary review. Thank you very much. On that note, I think we are going to
take our break.
Ms. Punohu: Aloha.
Council Chair Furfaro: Aloha. Members, it is quarter to one: I would like
to come back in session at quarter to two, and we will continue on this item.
There being no objections, the meeting was recessed at 12:46 p.m.
The meeting was called back to order at 1:51 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: Aloha, good afternoon, we have now returned from
our lunch break and we are still dealing with item C 2012 -74. We do have a County
Attorney here that I believe did work on the Salary Resolution? Would we be able
to ask you to come up in case there are questions from the Members? Mona, if you
could introduce yourself.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
MONA CLARK, Deputy County Attorney: I am Mona Clark, Deputy
County Attorney.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mona, before we get too much further into this
piece, I have noticed in the Operating Budget, again, that the Mayor has not taken
the allotted amount from the Salary Commission again. I do not think he has that
ability to do that. He does not have a board or commission that he reports to and so
forth. So if he wants to establish that standard, it is my belief that he should
actually take the salary approved by the Salary Commission and then return a
check to the County. He does not have that prerogative.
Ms. Clark: Well, those salaries have not been approved by the
appointing authorities yet, the increase.
Council Chair Furfaro: I understand, but this is even from the previous
year and then going forward in this salary it is lower than what was previously
allowed him. But because he does not report to a board or a commission, I am not
sure he can absolutely do that?
Ms. Clark: I think once an approved... a salary is increased,
then he would have to submit something to this board for the additional funds to
cover that increased amount. You may be correct that it would be a simpler process
for him to take the money to start with and then back it out. But I do not know that
that is a legal issue. It is more of a procedural issue.
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay, so maybe I should take that up with the
Finance Director.
Ms. Clark: That would be appropriate I would think.
Council Chair Furfaro: You understand what I am saying?
Ms. Clark: I do understand the point you have made.
COUNCIL MEETING -46- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: The Police Department, they have a Commission
that they report to. Planning reports to a Commission. Fire reports to a
Commission. They are responsible for the hiring, and reviews, and termination of
those officers. But the reality is from a salary standpoint, they are also the ones
that either give the salary approved at the cap by the Salary Commission or they
could actually give less. But in the Mayor's case, he does not report to a board or
commission. So it would be a lot simpler if he just took the recommendation from
the Salary Commission and if he wanted to return an amount he would do it that
way.
Ms. Clark: You are saying just as far as the Mayor is...
Council Chair Furfaro: I am only talking about the Mayor in this case.
Ms. Clark: And as it is right now, the Mayor's salary is set at
the 2008 rate and it has not been increased above that.
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes, but he is not taking that.
Ms. Clark: The 2008?
Council Chair Furfaro: Not according to the budget numbers we got.
Ms. Clark: I do not know how much he is taking.
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay, so that is a concern. I mean it is very
generous of him, but procedurally to me that is a concern. Mr. Rapozo, you have the
floor.
Mr. Rapozo: The Mayor is treated no differently than the
Council on the Salary Resolution. We do not have an appointing authority, so we do
not have the option of saying, no, we are not going to budget for that, and I guess
the bigger question is... and I do not think we have a choice as the County Council,
we need to submit a money bill to accomplish or accommodate the salary increase
for the Mayor back to when it was first raised. I do not see how we can get out of
that, Mona, and I am looking at Article 29.06 under the Charter, and it says, "The
Mayor and Council shall provide an annual appropriation sufficient to enable the
Commission to secure..." I am sorry, that is the wrong one. I apologize, I grabbed
the wrong section. But anyway, the Council and the Mayor are responsible for
funding the actions of the Salary Commission. We have no choice.
Ms. Clark: Right and right now you have a Salary Resolution,
the 2011 -1 that sets his salary at the 2008 rate, and then the new Salary Resolution
maintains it at that rate until 2013. I would imagine that he is receiving the 2008
amount, but I do not know that for a fact.
Council Chair Furfaro: We will pursue that as we go tomorrow into our
budget comments. To me it would just be a lot simpler if the way I portrayed it to
you is the way we handled it.
Ms. Clark; Right, and I did not realize you were aiming your
comments towards the 2008 Salary.
COUNCIL MEETING -47- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Well, that might be because I ate two salads today
for lunch and I am still ... I have not quieted my appetite, but it has been one that
has been bothering me for a while. It is very nice of him to do that, but procedurally
I do not think he can. Mr. Rapozo, you had your hand up?
Mr. Rapozo: No more questions.
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay. Mr. Kuali`i.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Aloha and mahalo, Mona.
Ms. Clark: Aloha.
Mr. Kuali`i: Just one quick question. Earlier, I do not know if
you were sitting in the audience, earlier I think I heard Councilmember Bynum say
that it appears to me we have to allow everyone raises or no one. Is our options
here accept, reject, and also reject in part?
Ms. Clark: The raises do not go into effect until 2013 under the
Resolution. So you could reject that entire column that you do not want those raises
to go into effect in 2013, and then you would be back to your 2008 rate under the
Salary Resolution.
Mr. Kuali`i: So there was not a rate from ... what happened last
year? Does not the amount from 2008 became 2009, and then became 2010, and
then became 2011, and then became 2012?
Ms. Clark: Right, it is still continuing at the rate that was set
in 2008 going forward until a new amount is put into effect.
Mr. Kuali`i: Right, so as it is now it would go into effect on
July 1, 2012.
Ms. Clark: No, in 2013 under the...
Mr. Kuali`i: No, no, the proposed... if this was rejected, then
that last rate that was 2008...
Ms. Clark: It is still 2013.
Mr. Kuali`i: You are calling it the 2008 rate, but it was actually
frozen at 2008, for 2009, then for 2010, then for 2011, then for 2012. So in 2012
what would take place if we did not take more... if we did not push it further down
the road another year, then what would take place on July 1, 2012, this year, would
be that rate that is in place, not the one that is being proposed.
Ms. Clark:
The 2008 rate.
Mr. Kuali`i: And you mentioned the column. So is ... but reject
in part could even be portions of the column.
Ms. Clark: You could decide that you were not going to give
any raises to certain people in that column.
COUNCIL MEETING -48- April 11, 2012
Mr. Kuali`i: So just to be clear then, we have the ability to ... the
statement we have to allow everyone raises or no one, is not true, is not correct. If
you could do raises to some, then that is not correct.
Ms. Clark: You can reject in whole or in part, so I guess you
could reject part of the salaries.
Mr. Kuali`i: Okay, just to be clear, thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Let us recognize Mr. Bynum since that was his
earlier interpretation and maybe you can help us all through this, Mona. So
Mr. Bynum, you have the floor.
Mr. Bynum: I apologize for stepping in a minute late, but I was
trying to wrap my brain around this for the last couple of days. The way it is
structured here, we can reject the change to 2013, but that would affect the entire
list.
Ms. Clark: I suppose I had not thought about it prior to this
meeting that you could go through and reject it as far as certain positions, but you
would need a supermajority to do that.
Mr. Bynum: Right. So I could say, hey, I want to allow the
Chiefs salary to go up, but not the Parks Director. I am just picking those as
examples.
Ms. Clark: Right. It says in whole or in part and so that would
be in part.
Mr. Bynum: Okay and I am just not sure exactly how we would
do that in terms of a document to accomplish that.
Ms. Clark: I guess you would strike out the particular salaries
in 2013 that you did not want to take effect.
Mr. Bynum: When I talked with... internally here it was like
well then that is an amendment if you take this and change this salary to that, that
is an amendment, which we cannot do.
Ms. Clark: Well, I do not think you can say, well, I would like
to change the date the salaries become effective to such and such a date. You do not
have the power to do that. You could not say I decide that the Police Chief should
get a $136,000 when that is not in the resolution. I think those would be
amendments. I think you are going contrary to what the intent is as far as the
intent was to leave the setting of the salaries to the Salary Commission. But it does
say in 29.03 that it can be rejected in part.
Mr. Bynum: So I could say, okay, I reject this amendment for
this particular position, but I accept it for this one.
Ms. Clark: I am afraid that would be the literal interpretation,
yes.
Mr. Bynum: And the net effect is if I accept the resolution as is
that means the raise is delayed until 2013.
COUNCIL MEETING -49- April 11, 2012
Ms. Clark:
Mr. Bynum:
effective now?
Right.
If I reject that particular position, then the raise is
Ms. Clark: Then they do not get any raise ever until the Salary
Commission approves a raise for them.
Mr. Bynum: Now it is getting more convoluted. If my intention
was to say I want to allow the Chief s ... I am going to use the Chief as an example
because that was (inaudible). If my intention was I want to allow the Chief's raise
to go into effect...
Ms. Clark: There is no raise to go into effect at this point
because the raise is not effective until 2013.
Mr. Bynum: The Resolution that is currently in place, right?
Ms. Clark: It says 2013.
Mr. Bynum: It says 2013. So then my question, "Why did we get
this at all ?"
Ms. Clark: The only change that is in there is as far as the
Prosecutor's Office and the Prosecutor's Office had complained that they thought
there was a salary freeze on every deputy's salary in their office and that it was an
absolute freeze, not just at the maximum cap, but a freeze of every salary. And so
this was just to attend to that detail which was not the intent of the Salary
Commission. They did not want to freeze every deputy's salary. They just wanted
to freeze the salary cap until there was parity. And so that is the sole reason this
resolution is before you —very, very, very narrow.
Mr. Bynum: And that is in Section 2?
Ms. Clark: That is in Section 2.
Mr. Bynum: So the only change from what currently is in effect
are these additional words in Section 2.
Ms. Clark: Yes, the maximum salaries is what is being frozen,
and that is the only thing that is being changed, and that was because the
Prosecutor complained.
Mr. Bynum: So the only real options before this body is to accept
those two word changes or reject them. If we reject the entire thing, it is going to go
back to what currently exists.
Ms. Clark: Right.
Mr. Bynum: Now I think I understand what our options are and
they are very limited. It is basically accept these two word changes or do not.
Ms. Clark: Right. You could reject all of the 2013 salaries, but
that means there would not be any time these people would get raises in the future,
and I think it is this body's desire that at some point in the future those raises go
into effect.
COUNCIL MEETING -50- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Mona, let us be clear. Quite frankly there have not
been increases for four years. Originally that was never the intent of going out and
having our salaries evaluated as a corporation called the County of Kauai. In fact,
in 2005 it was suggested that we were in many areas so behind with salary grades
for ... I mean licensed people, attorneys, civil engineers. We were so far behind that
we were going to do it in an increment of 25% and then spread over four years. We
did the one 25% increase back in 2008 and then for the last four years we have
actually left salaries the way they are.
Ms. Clark: Right and it is my understanding that the Salary
Commission is going to do a study or they want to pursue a study so that they can
make accurate recommendations in the future to this body.
Council Chair Furfaro: But they did a study and the study told them what
I just summarized with you. We were never at parity to be competitive, but they
could not give it all at one time. So what they did is they gave us... and I am
reflecting back, 25% and then over the next four years an incremental bump. We
got to the 25% and then stopped. And I want to make it clear that any Council
cannot approve anything for the years that we are on the Council. For us, it has to
be implemented two years later. So in actuality for the Council it is the four years
even if we did something today and plus another two years. But in this particular
case, the salary study was about competitiveness of our ability to recruit and
competitiveness in our ability to retain. That is what we commissioned that review
for. I was on the Council then and that is what I clearly understood. Now we are
taking it to 2013. We are not really getting out of what we had intended the
original salary evaluation to give us on being able to compete, recruit, and retain.
Ms. Clark: And those are all policy decisions, Chair, and it is
not something that I have any input into.
Council Chair Furfaro: I understand, but I am just trying to give you some
background on what I thought I was involved. So now each year when I come
across the budget format for holding this back another year, holding this back
another year, and so when we finally get this thing through, the chances for us to
have another company come in and evaluate our salaries, they are going to say,
"Oh, you folks are way behind. So the first year you should give 25% again." It just
becomes so redundant. I can see holding back a year. I can see holding back
two years, but we are now holding back four years, and we are going to fall in the
same trap that we were in back in 2006. We are so far behind.
Now, the Police Chief was used as an example today. I am sure there is a
different way to look at the compensations with overtime and so forth. I do not
think that was really a real picture of where we are at, taking the top four or five
earners. But when we look at Police Chief to Police Chief, there was a 20%
difference now between the Police Chief of Maui and our Police Chief. That is a
pretty big number when you start to measure retention, and recruitment, and so
forth. That is the only comment I really want to make. And I know it is a policy
issue, but I voted for that policy issue six years ago to fund that review. And I
understand our economic conditions perhaps to delay increases and so forth, and yet
I know there are also comparisons about rank and file and union (inaudible), but
they have a bargaining unit to deal with. For us to handle supervisory and senior
management, we have to depend on this salary recommendation. And I think if we
keep delaying it like this and we go out and get a new salary review commission
with retaining someone, they are going to come back to say, "Oh, now you are five
years behind, so we recommend you catch up by going with 25% now and then 4%
COUNCIL MEETING -51- April 11, 2012
incrementally." That is possible too. But anyway, I am just talking about what I
thought I voted for in a policy statement. Mr. Rapozo, you wanted the floor again?
Mr. Rapozo: No, I was going to ask a question. But it was
answered, so thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Kuali`i, did you have a question?
Mr. Kuali`i: I think I do. If it was answered, I did not hear it,
sorry. When you were talking to Councilmember Bynum, you mentioned that the
only changes were the text. But in fact that date is a proposed change, right?
Ms. Clark: Actually, it is not. It did not get removed
appropriately.
Mr. Kuali`i: There is a line through 7/01/11 and there is an
underline of 7/01/13.
Ms. Clark: Can I show you this? This is just what you have
(inaudible).
Mr. Kuali`i: So it is still showing something being deleted and
something being added.
Ms. Clark: Right. The Ramseyer should have been removed
from that section because that was from a prior resolution.
Mr. Kuali`i: So last year when we voted on the Salary
Resolution for the following year, we actually voted for the following two years?
Ms. Clark: That was the resolution that was in place, yes.
Mr. Kuali`i: Okay, the pushing of it back, instead of pushing it
back one year, we pushed it back two years.
Ms. Clark: That is correct.
Mr. Kuali`i: So why is it showing up to us as a proposed change.
Ms. Clark: That Ramseyer there should have been removed
and it was not. The change that was made was just in Section 2.
Mr. Kuali`i: So we do not have any choice is what you are
saying. It was not something that they did... as far as the date.
Ms. Clark: No.
Mr. Kuali`i: But we already approved it last year.
Ms. Clark: That is correct.
Mr. Kuali`i: To push it back to July 1, 2013. It does not seem
right. Where is our records that show that?
COUNCIL MEETING -52- April 11, 2012
Ms. Clark: That is your approved... that is the Resolution
there. I am sure you have a copy of the resolution and that anybody in the
County...
Council Chair Furfaro: We obviously have records. I guess I am saying
when we pushed it back two years —I am back to my old point —the intent of us
paying for a salary review was to get us as current as we can. Now because of the
economic situation, we agreed to the two -year push back. Now we are going to be
up to a five -year push back. When it finally hits us, they are going to be telling us,
well, to get more current, you need to do the following. This leaves lots of room for
improvement as far as the way we did business here. Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Whether it is crossed out or not, is it not whatever
they send us the affirmation of the Salary Resolution that they want to send us?
Ms. Clark: The Salary Resolution... if you were to reject that
column or you were to reject the Salary Resolution here, it is not going to push it
back. It will get rid of this column and you could make an argument that that
would put in effect the prior year's column, but the prior year's column or the one on
the prior Resolution says 2013. So it does not get you where you want to go.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: I just had a follow on to that.
Ms. Yukimura: They send us a Salary...
Council Chair Furfaro: JoAnn, he was asking you if he could... he had an
add on.
Ms. Yukimura: Oh, go ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: Only because if...I do not think we can reject the
column. We can reject the change and the change is what is bracketed and the
underline is the add. So we can change that. You cannot remove the column. I do
not think we can ... because that is not a change. The change is the date and that is
what you will see in my amendment or my rejection.
Ms. Yukimura: So can we make that change to the date? Well let
us see because the date is being proposed either... whether they are amending the
previous resolution or not, whatever they sent us is the resolution for the year,
right?
Ms. Clark: The Resolution shows the date as 2013. You can
reject the 2013 if you want, but that will not get you any salaries in effect. There
will be no salaries going into effect.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, Mona, that was very clear. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Can we reject the rejection of 7/11?
Ms. Clark: No, because the 7/11 date is not before you. That is
crossed out. It is not being offered to you as an option.
Mr. Kuali`i: It is being offered to delete it is how I see it.
COUNCIL MEETING -53- April 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, that is what I meant by the rejection of the
rejection, but it is a rejection of the Salary Commission's rejection. Maybe the
whole way of .. maybe the problem is that the Resolution is amending the prior
Resolution. Maybe every year there needs to be a new resolution.
Mr. Kuali`i: Exactly. We said that last year.
Ms. Clark: That may be a better way to go forward is just to
have a new resolution for future increases.
Ms. Yukimura: That is a procedural matter. But then if you take
that philosophical basis, basically you are saying however the resolution is
formatted, whatever is being proposed is all of the original resolution and the
amendments, and therefore, we could reject any portion of it.
Ms. Clark: Well, the 2011 is not in effect and has not been in
effect since your prior Salary Resolution had rejected that. So that is not an option
before you. But you could reject the 2013 date and then there would not be any date
for the increased salaries to go into effect.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, so what you are saying is this marking of a
rejection, the striking out of 7/1/11 is not a proposal.
Ms. Clark: It is not a proposed changed.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mona, why did we not just get a new resolution? I
am serious. I mean we are sitting over here, what was Ramseyered, what was
bracketed and underlined, what was underlined is now in. Should we not get a new
resolution?
Ms. Clark: We will send you a new resolution or they will send
you a new resolution for next year.
Council Chair Furfaro: The reason they send it to us now is the deadline,
and I know there has been disagreement about this, but by March 15 they were
supposed to send us a new resolution for the upcoming year. They did not do that.
This is causing all kinds of confusion here. We are entitled to the Salary
Commission meeting, them introducing a resolution fresh for the current period
that they are meeting as we approach the budget, and it should not be us sorting
out what was bracketed, what was underlined.
Ms. Clark: My apology for my not catching that. I take
responsibility for that. That was my error in not catching it.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mona, I have to tell you I think you do excellent
work. You do not have to apologize here. It seems to me the Boards and
Commissions would know that every year it is a new resolution. You have new
people coming on the board and I do not know if they know what was bracketed,
what was underlined, what the discussion was about. They should take part in a
new discussion and send us a new resolution. That is just my feeling.
Ms. Clark: I think, unfortunately, you are going to end up with
a situation where you are behind... as a result of people being behind in their salary
increases. If a situation turns out where there is a huge raise, I do not know how
that will be dealt with. Whether they are going to want to do a step raise as they
did in the past so it would cover more years, I do not know how that would...
COUNCIL MEETING -54- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: I think they should have known that we had the
political will to do that six years ago, and several of us gave testimony, get us
current by a four -part incremental period of time. Twenty - five... seven..'everybody
here is agreeing with me and so we had the political will to do that, but I think this
is more about our ability to recruit and retain competent department heads that are
paid a competitive rate. The other group has a bargaining unit to go through and so
forth. But anyway, Mona, I want to make sure you know I appreciate the work, but
I would like to see a clean copy every year. Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you, and Mona, I can appreciate your
explanation that it is an error, but we do not know that. The Commission proposed
this.
Ms. Clark: You have a copy, though, which I just handed to
Councilmember Kuali`i showing the prior year's resolution.
Mr. Rapozo: I am not considering... you already said the prior
year's resolution is not even on the table right now. I am not concerned about that.
I am looking at what was presented to us by the Salary Commission
Ms. Clark: I am just saying that the only thing that is before
you is the salary for 2013. It would only be before you for 2011 if there was a
change being made and there is no change being made there.
Mr. Rapozo: I am saying that if you look at the Salary
Resolution that was adopted because we did not vote, there is a bracketed 2011 year
and there is an underlined 2013 year. That is what was submitted to us. I do not
know, I did not go to the Salary Commission meetings, I am not sure why they sent
it this way, but they sent it this way. And if you look on page 5 of the Salary
Resolution Section 3, "Material to be deleted is bracketed and lined out. New
material to be added is underscored. In future reprints of this resolution, the
bracketed material and underscoring may be deleted." They had an option. They
left it in. They left it in, and I believe, so that we as a Council can make a
determination of what we believe is correct. So I am going to move forward on the
amendment or my rejection because that is what we have to deal with. We have to
deal with a resolution that was submitted to us 2012 because that is all we are
dealing with. We are not dealing with 2011, 2009. We deal with this resolution and
I think Section 3 basically tells us what we need to know. And if...I believe, which
my ... I guess we cannot call it an amendment, but if you look at my motion to reject
that has been circulated, my rejection is of the deleted item or the added item and
the restoration. We are rejecting that so that the 2011 will become part of the
resolution. And you can disagree or whatever, but I am just saying we have to deal
with what we have. This is what we have. That is what has been presented to us,
and Section 3 is very clear. Again, I think if the Salary Commission wanted to give
us an opportunity to do it that was one way of doing it, sort of like they were
amending their own resolution before they sent it to us. And again, Section 3 gives
them the ability to leave it in. It says "may." I know that does not mean much
around this place, but in my mind when it says, "In future reprints of this
resolution, the bracketed material and underscoring may be deleted." They did not
delete it. Whether it was by accident or what, my position is we on this Council
have the duty to vote on this resolution. We have a duty to reject any part of it that
we feel needs to be rejected, and that is what my rejection will reflect. Thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING -55- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Mona, I will be very honest with you. I am
confused as to why the Salary Commission does not meet once a year prior to
March 1 and submits to us recommendations for the year that the upcoming budget
is being dealt with. We are dealing with the budget for 2012 -2013, that is the fiscal
year for the County of Kauai. But they send us something that says 13. There are
so many things that could happen in that period of time that would make us
reevaluate salaries and I guess the one thing I am hearing is they are planning to
contract someone to do the reviews again. Do you know when that is being
proposed to be done and when we will be able to expect a completion of that.
Ms. Clark: They were discussing it and tried to get
information on whether other counties would be interested in participating in the
study with the County of Kauai so that the cost could be shared and it would be less
costly for the County. That was the status in March. They would have to go
through a procurement process and that would have to be approved. So that has
not been commenced yet, I do not think.
Council Chair Furfaro: I will ask my staff how much dialogue we had with
them because if it is boiling down to their looking at a way to save money and we
only do this survey like once every six years, they should have had some dialogue
with us, and so I will take that up with them, but thank you for that information. I
hope you understand where I am coming from. I would like them to deal with the
year that we are doing the upcoming budget for, not forecasting another year out
and so forth. And this date of 2013 actually was in the proposal back in August that
we reject it. We did not reject, I am sorry, I rejected. I was one of the three votes
that rejected it. So it has come back to us. What I was looking for was quite frankly
a 2012 -2013 salary recommendation for the upcoming budget year, and we did not
get that. I understand where the challenges are now. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Question.
Council Chair Furfaro: You have the floor.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. The Charter says the Council may
reject either the entire resolution or any portion of it. So the question is whether
this bracketed 07/01/11 is part of the resolution in my mind.
Ms. Clark: I think it is clearly a carry forward from the last
resolution, which I have a copy of with me and I would be happy to circulate to
people to show that that is a carry forward. It just was not removed, the Ramseyer
there. There is not currently in effect a 7/01/11 date for salaries to go into effect.
Ms. Yukimura: But that is only if you are assuming that every
resolution is an amendment of the prior resolution.
Ms. Clark: Well, if you look at this simply as being what is on
the document and what is being proposed, the date that is being proposed is 2013.
It is not proposing 2011.
Ms. Yukimura: Right, and that is why my question was whether
this bracketed 7/01/11 date is part of the resolution. "May reject either the entire
resolution or any portion thereof." I guess what you are saying is that the
resolution is just whatever is proposed, not what is being rejected because this is in
amendment form.
COUNCIL MEETING -56- April 11, 2012
Ms. Clark: Right. There is nothing currently existing that
would allow a 2011 date. And this does not in itself allow a 2011 date.
Council Chair Furfaro: You are right on that. I am going to give
Mr. Bynum the floor next, Mr. Rapozo.
is...
Mr. Bynum: And I think this confusion is unfortunate, but it
Ms. Clark: And my apologies.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you for that. It is kind of like earlier in this
week when to the Finance Director I said this paragraph does not make sense, and
he said oh, that was inadvertently left in there from the previous document. And
we did not say well, we are going to live by it because you made this mistake. Last
night I asked our staff to get me a copy of what is currently in place because I was
confused by this. And this is what is currently in place. The staff supplied it to me.
The date got changed to 13 already. And so what came to us that is an error. That
should have said 13. It should not have had those two things. People make errors,
but you have made it clear to me now that the purpose of this resolution was to
clarify for the Prosecutor's Office and other offices that have already obtained the
highest level they did in 2009 that they still have the ability to change salaries
within that range.
Ms. Clark: That is correct.
Mr. Bynum: And so the only purpose of this was to change this
language in Section 2.
Ms. Clark: Right.
Mr. Bynum: And so we had this very interesting debate and I
said I was personally open to raising the salaries of especially those people who
require licensure and master's degree. But that decision is not before this body. I
was prepared to vote to increase these, but it is unfortunate and I am having a hard
time letting go of it, but it was just simply an error, like the Finance Department
made earlier in the week, oh, we inadvertently left this in from the previous
document, right? Have I got this right, Mona?
Ms. Clark: That is correct.
Mr. Bynum: So as much as we might want to make a change, we
do not have that authority right now. I think maybe if the Salary Commission is
listening, they would hear that there is pretty much agreement on the Council, it
appears, to say some of these positions have been held long enough. We need to
remain competitive to get the quality people we need, and maybe they will want to
send us something. But that is their judgment because the Charter said, hey, we
are going to leave that to this Commission. We are not going to leave it to the
Council any longer because frankly when it was left to the Council, they held the
salaries low for a very long time and the inversions became huge. So this is
unfortunate that we are frustrated. We thought we were making this decision, but
now that I have this clarity, I understand that our real decision is do we want to
add this language to Section 2.
Ms. Clark: That is correct.
COUNCIL MEETING -57- April 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum: And then my answer would be yes, I want that
clarification language in there.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum, if you can do your mike, and before I
give the floor to Mr. Rapozo, and Mona, do you understand I am saying the
economic currents change every year. So every year we should get a new salary
resolution for the upcoming budget because we could take a nose dive here. The
market has taken a nose dive for the last four days. It is a Presidential Election
year, all of these variables are happening. But we should get a new picture each
year, in my opinion, and I think that would tell me that the Salary Commission has
had other economic indicators they were made privy to to give us a Salary
Resolution for the upcoming year. And maybe at some years that is zero, but just
recently with taking it out five years, that was done with a purpose and they briefed
us because we were so far behind. Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you. Mona, Tim's argument, I would buy if
this was a brand new resolution. If this was a new resolution, it is obvious that that
is an error.
Ms. Clark: I think you could also look at the Salary
Commission meeting notes.
Mr. Rapozo: I am not going to go there because what I am
reading at and I am going to act on what we have. The 2012 -1 Resolution amends
Resolution No. 2011 -1. It is an amendment. If you pull 2011 -1 and you look at the
text, that same underline and underscore and brackets show up. So to me an
amendment, they carried over that amendment over to the 2012 -1. This is an
amendment. This is not a new one. Mona, I guess you may have sat in those
meetings, I am not sure, but we have to respond to the proposal or the resolution
that is presented to us.
Ms. Clark: I do not think you can cause something to be in
effect that was never in effect.
Mr. Rapozo: We are required by law to reject or accept this
Resolution. This is an amendment of 2011 -1. Resolution 2011 -1 has the same
language, same Ramseyer. The document speaks for itself, and whether you can
come up here and tell us that was not meant to be, I am sorry, Mona. I apologize,
but I cannot agree with that because we have a Resolution we have to act on.
Ms. Clark: I think it is a clear misreading of it. You are at
liberty to take that misreading if you want to, but I think (inaudible).
Mr. Rapozo: Well I am going to propose my amendment and I
guess the body will vote, but I think it is just a travesty to basically ignore the
Resolution from the Salary Commission. I do. I believe that that is there for a
reason. That is there so that we can make a determination whether or not this body
wanted to freeze it until 2013 or allow the salary increases to increase. I think that
is what is required by us by the Charter. And again, the votes will fall where they
fall. Mona, I just ... I think it is... It is clear to me anyway that this amended 2011.
2011 language is in the 2012 Resolution. So we need to act on that. And again, it is
really how each individual councilmember feels at the end of the day, and then if
the County Attorney's Office is going to challenge the vote, that is their prerogative
and that is fine with me. But for me I take my job seriously. I believe that this
resolution, as it was passed... remember now this was passed and approved by all
members of the Salary Commission. That is what they wanted to come to the
COUNCIL MEETING -58- April 11, 2012
Council. Section 3 gives us the right. It tells us about the Ramseyer process and for
us to say well, no that is a typo, I think is not the right way to go, but that is just
my opinion. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Kuali`i.
Mr. Kuali`i: The fourth column was always a part of this
resolution. Since we came out of that study or the prior Council's when the Salary
Commission did that study and they made these proposals of the gradual increases,
in 7/1/07 that column took effect, 1/1/08 that column took effect, 12/1/08 that column
took effect. Each year the fourth column was in there, so it was always meant to be
a part of this consideration, and it was approved... it was pushed back. So there was
an approval date. The original approval date, I assume, is 7/1/09 for those new
rates. However, before 7/1/09 came, action was taken to push that back to 7/1/10,
and then it was pushed back the next year to 7/1/11, and then pushed back instead
of 7/1/12 like that annual push back was happening, to 7/1/13. So if you say 7/1/11
by approving it to 13, 7/1/11 went away. And even if you said then when 11
replaced 10 that went away. Eventually you will get back to 7/1/09 which was the
original fourth column, right? So it would still... how could we say that this Salary
Commission did this work, put this before us for implementation at some point,
originally intended for 7/1/09, and I would imagine that is what was originally
approved in 7/1/08 or whatever the process be. And then after having been
approved for 7/1/09, it got pushed back before 7/1/09 came just like we have done
every year because of the economy or whatever. So even if by your reason you can
eliminate all these years, you will still get back to this fourth column having been
approved in 7/1/09. And that is what would take place if we rejected 7/1/13, then
the fourth column would take place with 7/1/09 and well, it is only caps, so it is not
going to be retroactive or anything and 7/1/09 fourth column would take effect on
7/1/12.
Ms. Clark: If you had done that several years ago, that would
have been possible. But the time for you being able to do that has lapsed. You
cannot roll back all these resolutions. There were a lot of intervening resolutions
and you cannot (inaudible).
Mr. Kuali`i: You are saying these are all separate resolutions or
was this the same resolution updated each year and pushed back?
Ms. Clark: If you reject this resolution, what will be in effect is
last year's resolution. Last year's resolution has the 13 on it.
Council Chair Furfaro: Let me give some clarity here. In the year that we
gave that incremental increase of 25 %, it was presented to us as a four -year plan. I
want to make sure that Councilmember Kuali`i understands that they are saying
we have done our work, here is the plan, but to get you folks current, we are going
to show it in a four -year step plan. I do not think previously the Salary Commission
had been able to give us resolutions that were stretched out for that period of time.
Ms. Clark: I think what happened was you had the 2006
amendment and that changed the whole process and put in effect the Salary
Commission, and so that is what happened, and they did the incremental pay
raises.
Council Chair Furfaro: I am just saying that originally how it started out
to get us a whole based on what the survey said and I have the survey here, it
basically... the conclusion was a four -year plan. I do not think that is a good plan
COUNCIL MEETING -59- April 11, 2012
going forward. We should get a recommendation that kind of gives us some
indications how the economy is going to grow or be flat. But we should be doing a
Salary Resolution for the current year that we are doing the budget in, and then
subsequently every year before the budget a new one. But I want to make sure that
that was a new procedure that we have based on the recommendation that we were
not very competitive at the time. You have the floor, Mr. Kuali`i.
Mr. Kuali`i: I just wanted to say so the original document that I
look at from April 28, 2009 shows four columns with four different effective dates,
and it has 7/1/07, 1/1/08, 12/1/08, and 12/1/09. So it was four increases over a
two -year period. So it was never a four -year plan. It was a two -year plan with four
increases.
Council Chair Furfaro: He is waving his hand. You will have the floor
when we come back. This is a tape change.
There being no objections, the meeting was recessed at 2:42 p.m.
The meeting was called back to order at 2:48 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: We are back. Did you want to have more time?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Bynum: No, I understand it now. Nadine, did you have
questions to pose to the Attorney? Mr. Chang? Is there anything else you want to
add for us here?
Ms. Clark; No, there is not.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much and when I get the other
councilmembers back, we will have some discussion here. Is there anything you
want to share with the group of four of us?
Mr. Bynum: Regarding this?
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Mr. Bynum: I think I have already said this that I think there
was a typo. That is always unfortunate, but I do not believe we have the
mechanisms before us to make any changes, any increases, or to authorize them. If
we did, it seems that there is a majority to do that, but I do not believe we have that
authority right now. So that is unfortunate, but the choice is very clear to me now.
The Resolution clarifies some language in Section 2. We can either accept or reject
that. That is, I think, our only options.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you. I would like to and I do not even know
how to make this motion. I guess, it is a motion to reject the items in part as
circulated. If I will not get a second then...
COUNCIL MEETING -60-
Mr. Kuali`i: Second.
April 11, 2012
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you ... well let me move to accept the
resolution, that is the original resolution on the floor 2012 -1.
Mr. Bynum: Second.
Mr. Rapozo: And then my motion as I just stated earlier is to
reject the date of 7/1/13 and to reject Section 2 on page 5 because that would be
irrelevant to the resolution as well as...
Council Chair Furfaro: Point of Order from Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Point of Inquiry. May I suggest that it might be
move to amend...
Mr. Rapozo: We are not allowed to amend.
Ms. Yukimura: You are amending a motion to accept by saying,
except for ... with the following exceptions as circulated, right? You are moving to
accept except for...
Mr. Rapozo: Okay, I think you are right. Let me restate the
motion.
Council Chair Furfaro: Hold on just a second. Why do you not restate the
motion? Mr. Rapozo, you have the floor.
Mr. Rapozo moved to reject in part Salary Commission Resolution No. 2012 -1
as shown in the Floor Amendment attached hereto (see Attachment No. 1),
seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Mr. Rapozo:
amendment?
And then, Mr. Chair, if I may explain the
Council Chair Furfaro: You have the floor.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you. Before I ... I just wanted to read this
very short passage from the Salary Commission Report back in April 2007 and I am
just going to summarize with the two paragraphs that they ended with. And it is
"We adopted the three -year salary schedule because it begins to align the salaries of
the various positions in comparable positions in other County systems as reported
in the Dr. Nash Study. By this schedule we believe we have fulfilled our
commitment to meeting the mandate of the public by setting salaries that are based
on realistic standards that are fair and reflect the performance, duties, and
responsibilities of the positions. We also note that our comparison assumes no pay
increases in the other jurisdictions when in reality pay raises have either been
granted or are under consideration." And as we know now, because this is again
from 2007, that has already occurred. "After the last increase in 2010," which
obviously has been changed so many times, "the proposal would eliminate the
salary inversion problem for departments, except the Department of Public Works
and the Department of Water, which would still experience a small salary inversion.
Thus, the commission has relied on factual objective data to make recommendations
that ensure salaries will attract and retain qualified individuals in government
service. It also provides consistency in compensation practices for positions in other
County governments." Now I think that is important because I know Mr. Bynum
COUNCIL MEETING -61- April 11, 2012
mentioned in a prior meeting that it was important for us to honor the work of the
Salary Commission. The work of the Salary Commission was done many, many
years ago and we have constantly, because the Mayor has believed that we could
not afford it, has constantly moved that final pay period. This is not a new raise,
and it does not provide new money. This is a raise that was agreed upon by the
Salary Commission and the Councils of the past. Some have argued the Union
workers have not received a raise. That is not correct. They have. In this period
since 2007 until today, they have. They have received several pay increases while
the Administration has not. And I think that we owe it to not only the Salary
Commission, but to our employees that we have some kind of assurance that in fact
these pay raises were going to occur. I think they could understand the first
deferral, and the second deferral, but now it is pretty apparent to them that the
Salary Commission is looking at doing another study, and that may in fact push the
delay of what they ... I believe they deserve and what they should have. Do I think
Public Safety should be paid more than non - public safety? Absolutely. Do I hope
that the new salary study will be done with that kind of scope? Absolutely, but as
far as sitting here today, we have an opportunity to restore this schedule to where it
was originally intended to be based on a salary study that we paid a lot of money
for, and I know because I was here when we did it. And to bring some
parity... because we have waited so long, even if this schedule should pass, we are
going to have an inversion. We are still going to have an inversion because we
waited so long, and it is going to continue to get inverted until we make the
correction, and this is the time to do it. I believe that this Salary Resolution is an
amendment of last year's one. I believe that we have the ability to reject the date,
and that is what my amendment or my motion does. And I would hope that I can
get your approval. It does take five votes. Realizing that, but I think once we get
that done, we can start the process of parity again, and at least bring more equality
and equity to the pay scale for our department heads. So I would ask for your
favorable support of this motion, thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum, you have the floor.
Mr. Bynum: Mel, if your amendment would accomplish the
goals that you have stated, I would be voting for it. But the legal outcome, if we
pass your amendment, is that the salaries stay the same as they are right now, and
we have eliminated the 2013 date as a potential increase. You have convinced me
with your argument that there is some inversion problems at least in certain
categories, but I think the outcome of passing your amendment will be not what you
intend. So I will not be supporting it.
Council Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, thank you. Well first of all I cannot support
the rejection of Section 2 because I feel that one of the purposes of the Salary
Commission was to establish some equity among the positions, and this section is
trying to do that. So for that reason alone I could not support the amendment. As
for the rest of it, I do not think and almost unfortunately, but I do not think that we
are just rejecting a date. I think what the intention of the amendment is to insert
another date, and I do not believe that was what the Charter intended. The
intention, I believe, of the Salary Commission was to set 7/1/13 as the date for this
last column to go into effect, and if we reject it we are not inserting 7/1/11. I do not
believe we are legally doing that. And our power only is the power to to reject, as I
read the Charter. I think there are problems with or the problems of inversion and
the problems of competitiveness, I think the Chair has outlined the concerns that
continue to exist as we try to implement the original intention of the Salary
Commission back in 2007. But we also know that there is a Salary Commission this
COUNCIL MEETING -62- April 11, 2012
year, and they made some assessments we have had to, over the years, adjust
because circumstances change, and I am hoping that in this next year the Salary
Commission will follow through with its intention to conduct a study quickly and
bring together all these different factors that have to be considered in proper salary
setting and will next year make a proposal for some corrections in the Salary
Resolution.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Kuali`i, go ahead.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will support this strongly,
and the reason is that the Salary Commission made the recommendations years
ago. The first time that the fourth column and the last piece of the caps should
have gone into place was in December of 2009, and that has been frozen. So
December of 2008 is actually what is in place. Now that is four and a half years
ago, and to push it to July 1, 2013 will add yet another year to that. We have heard
very clear testimony of what has resulted, the impact it has made on the freezing of
those salaries and how far behind we have fallen. And if there is going to be a new
study that is for going forward. That still does not address what we have not done
for all these years. I do see this as what is in front of me, the addition of 7/1/13 and
the deletion of 7/1/11, and if we do not accept that 7/1/13, then it has to revert to
something. It cannot revert back to 12/1/08 because this fourth column was always
a part of this resolution and always a part of the intention to be implemented at
some point. And every time it was approved, it was then later before the date came
up, it was approved to be pushed back. So it was always approved and that
approval was then replaced with a new approval that was one year later. So if you
undo that most recent approval, the next approval is there, and so on, and so on. To
say that this fourth column would disappear completely is to not have accepted it to
begin with in the very first place when this first came before us from the Salary
Commission. If we truly are concerned about parity and equity and salary inversion
like we say we are, we seem to be in the same place we were when I started on this
Council a year ago. So if we want to do our responsibility and then put it back on
the Administration, and the County Attorney, and the Salary Commission to make
it work, then we are saying this is it, now you go make it work. And if you cannot,
then come back to us with something that will. That study next year, that is next
year. What are we doing now? When the Chair talked about he does not see any
salary recommendation for this upcoming year and how it ties to the budget, you
have to do this every year for the budget. To me that is the Salary Commission's
responsibility to help us set the salary caps, which is one of our biggest jobs because
labor is the highest cost to this County. So I will support this.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Chang.
Mr. Chang: Thank you, Chairman. I am going to support it
also myself. Sometimes when we sit here and we address the viewing audience and
we address the chambers, I asked a chamber member today if he was a part of the
Salary Commission because everybody are hard - working volunteers and they are on
a voluntary basis. However, I would like to say that this agenda item has been on
the agenda and I would have loved to see some representative because I do feel that
I would love to have questioned, asked for feedback, reinforce reasoning, but I also
want to say and I really do hope that the presentation and the spirited
conversations that we have is something that is viewed by the Commission. In
other words, when they go to their meetings, albeit once a month or what have you,
I do not even know if we have any vacancies. I think the last time we may have had
discussion there might have been somebody that their term was going to be expiring
or a term is right around the corner being expiring or somebody might not have ... I
do not even know if we have a full body of our commissioners. And I think it is just
COUNCIL MEETING -63- April 11, 2012
very important when we have these types of discussion to hopefully try to get one or
two representatives not just in the audience, but I would also like to see a tape
available that at their own time they can review it, they can absorb it, and they can
see what the concerns are. I am going to be supporting this, and I hope that we can
make sure that the Commissioners can at least have a tape made available and /or
go through our system in which case they can just play back and see this whole
conversation because in these few short hours there is a lot of information, there is
a lot of concern, and a lot of history that has been going on. So I hope that by
moving forward we can rectify the concerns and get to where we need to be for the
benefit of our higher department heads, if you will. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Nadine.
Ms. Nakamura: I will not be supporting the amendment for the
reason stated earlier by Councilmembers Bynum and Yukimura, primarily the ... I
think there was an honest mistake about the date and I think if it reverts back it is
going to revert back to the 12/1/08 date, which really does not accomplish much to
me. I believe that the Salary Commission deliberated and came up with this
recommendation. That Commission includes Robert Crowell, the late Bill Dahle,
Randy Finlay, Trinette Kaui, Sheri Kunioka -Volz, and Michael Machado, people
that I respect in this community, and this is their recommendation. But at the
same time, I would like to convey correspondence to the Salary Commission that
asks them to prepare a new Salary Resolution each year rather than amending an
existing resolution. No. 2, that they prepare a recommendation at the end of the
calendar year. It would be helpful to the Administration, I believe, to have a
recommendation prior to budget deliberations that begin early in the calendar year.
And it would be helpful to the Council to have accurate information included in the
original budget submitted to us on March 15. So I would like to put that in writing.
And third, to consider classifying positions based on level of the department's
budget, size of the workforce, and advance degrees necessary to fulfill roles. And
finally, to even consider and I do not know if it is allowed under the Charter, but to
consider retroactive pay due to pay inversion differences. So I would like to forward
that correspondence. It would be great if it is on behalf of the Council, but if not, I
am going to send a letter.
Council Chair Furfaro: I think the letter should come from the Chair and I
am going to ask for a recess right now because I want to get some clarity on a couple
things here. I want to share with you a couple points. Nadine, I am sorry to say
but when you are dealing with people's salaries, you cannot chuck it off to an honest
mistake. The Administration needs to be focused on these issues and we passed an
ordinance, not a resolution, that I want to visit with the Clerk's Office on a little bit
here in 2011, that is the first part. No. 2, I think the salary services review by a
contracted vendor, and I had a nice discussion with Mona about this, I think we
have a four -year term with the Administration, and the Administration should
regularly have in the first year of their term they should be budgeting for a salary
review by a third party outside contract, and then that should happen again in year
four. Because the in- between years we should be expecting a salary review from the
Commission that basically ties into the cost of living index, it should be maybe some
of the recent positions that we changed added to the salary review. I think we have
seven at last cost, we have seven new positions that are not even on the salary
review range. They are just positions that have been created out of need but never
graded as such as needing to be on the... and some pretty heavy hitters. So we have
some system things in here that to me quite frankly are part of the Administration's
objectives in Boards and Commissions. And some of you know I have always been a
proponent that the Boards and Commissions review, although they are nominees
from the Mayor, in my review they have some possibility of actually coming onto the
COUNCIL MEETING -64- April 11, 2012
Council's Boards and Commissions so that we can be focused on these types of
administrative needs as we (inaudible), but that is a separate discussion. This is
extremely important for me to revisit the salary ordinance that was passed No. 818
document and then an amendment 907 in 2011 and I would like to ask for your
indulgence. As it stands right now I cannot support Mr. Rapozo's request. Do I
think it is absolutely needed? Absolutely I do. But from the perspective of what we
are short here, I may not be able to do that. I was of the impression when we
passed this item in 2011 it was an ordinance that set these standards and I would
like to take a moment to talk to the Clerk. If I can indulge with you folks.
Mr. Rapozo: Can I just make one comment?
Council Chair Furfaro: Sure.
Council Chair Furfaro: I just want to clarify one thing because I know
Councilmember Nakamura talked about the integrity of the Salary Commission. I
just want to say that this amendment is in no way, shape, or form intended to
disrespect or discredit the Salary Commissioners. We all know why the Salary
Commission is doing this. It is because the Mayor went to tell them. The Mayor
asked them. Because of tough times, I am asking for you folks to hold back on the
final payment. That is no secret. That is in written form. That is public record.
And the reason given was because of the economy. But how do you tell the Chief,
Fire Chief, Police Chief, all of these department heads, sorry we cannot give you a
$7,000.00 raise for next year, but we can bump up 18 positions in the County
Administration. We can create new $100,000.00 positions throughout the County. I
just want to say it means no disrespect to the Salary Commissioners. They acted on
the information they were provided. They do not have the information that we on
this body have. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: I just want to make it... do I think there is parity
with the Maui Police Chief at $137,000 and our Police Chief at $116,000, a $21,000
difference or whatever it is. It is $21,000 difference, I just read the numbers wrong.
But what I am saying is that is not parity: And we have to have some mechanisms
to really... at least in a four -year period have two competitive salary evaluations
made. We have one coming up. The Mayor does have four -year terms, it should be
done at the beginning and the end of each of his terms. It should be part of his
administrative cost. But I would like to take a recess so I can get some clarity on
this, if the Members would indulge me.
There being no objections, the meeting was recessed at 3:12 p.m.
The meeting was called back to order at 3:29 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: We are back from our recess and again, as we are
going around the table here, anything we deal with with money, at the end of the
day requires, for this salary piece, it requires a supermajority vote of five. I am sure
around the table no matter where my vote goes, we only get to four. I guess it does
not count where I vote because it does not get us to five is what I am saying. There
are a couple of things I do want to say. Old amendments, when I was first on the
Council, actually dealt with identifying the positions, the salaries, and so forth, and
so when the resolution came over, we would convey it to an ordinance. In 2010
verbiage was put into the ordinance that basically indicates "the annual salaries
payable semi - monthly of certain County officers and employees shall be established
in the resolution as adopted by the Salary Commission and currently in effect. It
shall, however, be respective of the appointing authority who may set the salaries
and increases of the salary appointees at any figure below what the established rate
COUNCIL MEETING -65- April 11, 2012
is." So that is the portion that really references you establish the rate at the Salary
Commission, but it allows us to leave the final decisions to the level of pay 85 %, 90%
of the entitlement to that independent Board or Commission. But what they did in
that 2010 ordinance, it basically said that the monthly salaries of certain officers
and employees are now established in the resolution. So we do not do it like they
used to. We just adopt the resolution in this ordinance, so that was a change.
I also do want to, with respect to the Salary Commission's power, I disagree a
bit here that the Commission's salary setting decisions does not empower them to
adopt policies regarding what the salaries are. That certainly is left with the
appointing authority. Police Commission has the authority for the Police Chief,
Planning, etcetera, etcetera. So that is a piece that is very, very important to
reference. And then also this is the portion that I am most concerned with, the
County Code. It has not been updated with the recent appointments of many
positions that are in the Administration now that quite frankly I believe should be
subject to the salary and performance review practices, not just being added, but
they are added in a category that lets them know that their review is subject to the
Board or Commission that they refer to and /or they are subject to the same review
conditions as other officers in the company, and this list has not been updated for a
very long time. But as I said, whatever we do here today takes a supermajority and
it does not sound like we are going to get there.
But I need to provide a memorandum to the Administration going forward. I
think the fact that we are waiting this whole period of time to go through another
salary discovery recommendation which now might actually be six years is too long.
I think we need to know that maybe in the terms of the four -year Mayor, there
should be a review done at the beginning of his term and one at the end or in the
third year on a regular basis because I think ultimately we are going to have
problems. We are going to be right back where we were in 2006 in retaining people
and being able to pay a competitive salary unless we do this on a regular basis. I
also think that this four -year spread that we got from the Salary Commission back
in 2007 was based on the fact that they are saying hey, you are so far behind we
need to give you a program that incrementally gets us caught up by year four
because we could not take the hit all at once. So I will be sending something over
and trying to meet with Paula Morikami on Boards and Commissions. I think that
is a very, very big plus that has to be part of our compensation plan for senior
people. If not, all the testimony we are ... I do not know how we are going to keep
them once we recruit them. You might as well stay as a lieutenant in the Police
Department that has 24 vacancies, earn your 2,080 hours a year of regular pay and
earn another 800 hours in the year of double time or premium pay because we are
short on the recruiting aspect. It does not make any sense for the people to be
promotable with time and experience in the department when they look at a salary
grade that puts them actually at an earning disadvantage. So I am going to
continue to pursue this other ways, but after going through all of these ordinances,
resolutions, amendments, and the County Code, I probably, one way or the other,
will not get either side to the five votes. It will not happen from what I have heard
around the table. On that note before I call for the vote, I am going to give Mr.
Rapozo the floor again.
Mr. Rapozo: If possible, Mr. Chair, can I ask the attorney a
question?
Council Chair Furfaro: Sure. Let us suspend the rules. Mona, if you
would come up again.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
COUNCIL MEETING -66- April 11, 2012
Ms. Clark:
Mona Clark, Deputy County Attorney.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you, Mona. My question is a legal question
and last August, I believe, this all could have been alleviated if we rejected the
resolution the last go around, got a reconsideration, and it ended up getting
adopted, which I think has caused some of this problem. As much as I disagreed
with the interpretation of the Charter, the "shall" and the "may," it was ruled by
your office that in fact for this specific Charter section that it was perfectly fine for
the Salary Commission to submit a resolution after March 15. Is that the position
of your office?
Ms. Clark: Yes, that it is directory rather than mandatory.
Mr. Rapozo: Okay, so in this specific case, nothing would
prohibit this Council from sending over a request to Boards and Commissions or
maybe even you could address our concerns because from what I heard going
around the table today, I think we have a supermajority for the increases. Just
because of the honest mistake or the technical difficulty or whatever the heck that
was, we cannot get it done. So I am assuming that if the Salary Commission could
come to us with a new resolution based on your office's opinion after March 15, then
we could actually address that and convert that into an actual budget adjustment
going forward.
Ms. Clark: Right, I think you want to, as a practical matter,
you would want to get it adopted before the final budget.
Mr. Rapozo: We would want to, but (inaudible).
Ms. Clark: Since you are talking about an increase and you
will have a money bill as a result if you do something else.
Mr. Rapozo: Correct and that would be my ideal situation, to get
it before the final submission of the budget, which means we would have to get the
Salary Commission to meet within the next few weeks. So I will ask the Chair to
submit a letter on our behalf or on my behalf anyway. I do not know how the
others...
Council Chair Furfaro: I will send it on the body's.
Mr. Rapozo: Yes, because I think that is what I heard today. I
heard the five, I think we have the five if not for that technical issue. So thank you
very much, Mona, you answered my question.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mona, thank you for your efforts today with us.
Thank you very much, and we are going to send some correspondence over seeing if
we cannot encourage them to get together one more time. Thank you very much.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: On that note, I am going to go around and have a
roll call.
COUNCIL MEETING -67- April 11, 2012
The motion to reject in part Salary Commission Resolution No. 2012 -1 as
shown in the Floor Amendment attached hereto (see Attachment No. 1) was then
put, and failed by the following vote:
FOR REJECTION: Chang, Kuali`i, Rapozo, Furfaro TOTAL — 4,
AGAINST REJECTION: Bynum, Nakamura, Yukimura TOTAL — 3,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Council Chair Furfaro: We have to go back to the main motion to receive.
Mr. Bynum moved to receive C 2012 -74 for the record, seconded by
Mr. Chang.
Ms. Yukimura: Point of Order.
Council Chair Furfaro: Point of Order, the motion should be to accept.
Ms. Yukimura: I thought there was a main motion to accept, then a
motion to amend with the rejections.
Mr. Rapozo: No, that was corrected. The only motion that was
made was my motion -which was to accept with the rejections, and that failed. So
somebody needs to make a motion to receive, which was just done.
Council Chair Furfaro: Roll call?
Mr. Bynum: Discussion?
Council Chair Furfaro: You want discussion again? Go ahead.
Mr. Bynum: I am sorry that this is so confusing, but I have
always supported the Salary Commission's work to being parity and to pay our
department heads at a reasonable manner so we can attract the kind and quality
people that we largely have. I have also gone to the Salary Commission and given
my opinion about... that not all positions are created equal, and some of our
positions require licensure or Master's degrees or they are unique, like the Police
and Fire Chiefs, and that they are competitive nationwide to get those positions
filled, and we want good quality people and so the Salary Commission made those
moves. But the Salary Commission did not know that we were not just going to
have an economic downturn, we were going to have a historic economic meltdown
for the entire world, which we are all coping with. As a result of that our County
employees, our line employees have had no pay increases for a number of years, but
they have not had any increases in their salary, they have suffered furloughs, they
have paid the price, and I think it was logical and appropriate to say during this
time let us not have department heads get raises either.
Now the inversion has been recreated. We saw evidence to that today in the
Police Department and it is in our budget. We have two civil engineers, long -term
County employees, whose current salary is greater than the County Engineer who
is required to be a licensed engineer. I would like to see those positions
acknowledged as being different than other positions that do not have those
requirements, but that is really a choice of the Salary Commission. I think the
Salary Commission, every one that I have seen, has been diligent. I have made
suggestions to them that they chose not to adopt. The Mayor has made suggestions
to them, but I believe they made an independent judgment about what they thought
was best for our community.
COUNCIL MEETING -68- April 11, 2012
I am torn between recognizing what J just said that we are going through
really difficult times. Our County line workers have had decreases in their take
home salary, and the other side of that is we want to keep this parity and equity
especially at these high level people that have specific expertise. But the choice we
had today was finally clearly outlined by the County Attorney. The only choice we
had was to accept several word clarifications, that I think are important, or not. If
Mr. Rapozo's amendment would have passed, it would not have resulted in salary
increases. It would have resulted in having no date of those increases happening.
By accepting this or receiving this, it goes into effect. The clarifying language is in
there. That was the desire of the Salary Commission, and we have a date of in 2013
when department head salaries can go up if their appointing authorities choose. So
this was confusing, but it did bring about a clarity, I think, that there is a consensus
on this Council that it is time to look very seriously at these inversion issues and at
those salary head positions to make sure we remain competitive. I do not think
there is any question about that. We just did not have an opportunity to act on that
here today. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Anyone else wants to speak? If not, I will speak. I
have to tell you there is a lot of work here for the Administration, and I just work
here too. I just happen to be the Chairman of the legislative body. But I have to
tell you I have gone to the Salary Commission, I have gone to the Civil Service
Board, I have gone many times to give testimony, to give forms. I can tell you I
have gone and did Upward Appraisal forms back when K.C. Lum was the Chief,
and I have spoken to the Police Commission, and I presented it to Civil Service. I
presented Upward Appraisal Evaluations to the Personnel group in Civil Service
and so forth, and I was told great idea and it is coming. Well, I think I have one
more term on the Council and then I have come to the end of my term limits. So it
is very, very important that we work through the Administration to get some of
these things done. The presentations were meaningful. I do not think that in my
process of giving reviews that making sure that reviews fit this seven - question form
was a condition of their performance. To me, performance includes going out to the
rank and file and getting feedback about the performance. It is about setting
criteria. It is about measuring against performance with capital budgets. It is
about recruitment. It is about all of those things, and if we want the best possible
people to lead these division heads, it is time that we are not so dormant on keeping
retention through the salary mechanism. I am delighted to hear from Mona that
the door is open for us to talk to the Salary Commission. Thank you, Mona, and we
will be sending that correspondence because we just cannot keep it going at this
process without demonstrating some additional reviews of performance of
department heads. So thank you for opening that door for us. Is there anyone else
to speak before I call for the vote? Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: I just want to say that I think communicating with
the Salary Commission is very important on both levels, one proposed by
Councilmember Nakamura. I think we can make a request to the Salary
Commission to relook at their proposal to us. But I think that it is going to take
more than one meeting for them to really make a decision to increase the salaries
beyond what they are recommending for 2013, and I am looking forward to that
process which I think the Chair has given input to and I think we have some
opportunity to give input too. The Charter has seen fit that the Salary Commission
makes the main decision. And if the Salary Commission makes a decision, we have
just a limited power to reject. I think that was intentional. So the main job is in
the Salary Commission, and I look forward to them doing a thorough and
comprehensive job so that we can look forward to some parity and competitiveness
COUNCIL MEETING -69- April 11, 2012
for our department head positions. And I like the Chair's idea that we perhaps
align it to the Mayor's four -year term. That sounds like one way that would be
rational in terms of setting salaries.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. Mr. Rapozo, you have the
floor and the Vegas Princess has spoken again about no more rolling the dice.
Mr. Rapozo, you have the floor.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you and I do want to say that as we
discussed equity, parity and trying to get people in the right pay positions, Section 2
does the opposite. It totally takes away the parity on several positions or the equity
I should say or the inversion. If you want to stop the inversion, you do not freeze
salaries. If you are going to freeze salaries you are going to create more of an
inversion. So I am not going to be supporting the resolution because of Section 2 as
my suggestion was to remove that because at least those positions are at a point
where ... it was a good starting point. Why hold back? Why punish them all? If we
cannot get our you- know -what together and get a resolution done properly, why
would we punish the department heads that are in Section 2? Why would we do
that? So I am not going to support it. Section 2 is more to the problem. It creates
more of a problem because it holds back some positions. I think we have to start
looking at the ones in Article 1, those positions, how we get them back up to where
they need to be based on the Salary Commission's recommendations and not hold
anybody else back because we screwed up. I will not be supporting the resolution
with Section 2 included. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Is there anyone else that wishes to
speak? Okay, so I have my task which I have just delegated to Mr. Morimoto about
getting some time with the Salary Commission as soon as possible and see if we
cannot get a new resolution going. Now we are going to vote on this item.
The motion to receive C 2012 -74 for the record was then put, and carried by
the following vote:
FOR RECEIPT: Bynum, Chang, Nakamura, Yukimura TOTAL — 4,
AGAINST RECEIPT: Kuali`i, Rapozo, Furfaro TOTAL — 3,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mona, I will be trying to contact you on some
procedural things, but again I want to thank you for your flexibility on opening the
door for us again. Next item, please.
There being no objection, Resolution No. 2012 -27 was taken out of order.
Resolution No. 2012 -27, RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF
THE KAUAI COUNTY 2012 ACTION PLAN (HOME INVESTMENT
PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM) WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FOR A GRANT
UNDER TITLE II OF THE CRANSTON - GONZALEZ NATIONAL AFFORDABLE
HOUSING ACT (PUBLIC LAW 101 -625), AS AMENDED: Ms. Yukimura moved
for adoption of Resolution No. 2012 -27, seconded by Mr. Bynum.
Council Chair Furfaro: You are welcome to come up. We have Housing on
their way over, but if you would like to speak now? Come.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended
COUNCIL MEETING -70- April 11, 2012
ANNE PUNOHU: Aloha, Anne Punohu. I actually would like to
speak on both 4 and 5 because they are very, very similar. I have a couple of
questions. So maybe when they come in the room, perhaps it might be nice if you
could help me through you to ask them some questions. My first question is why is
there a resolution for 4 and 5? These are Federal requirements of law; therefore,
why is a resolution necessary? That is just my understanding and other people's
understanding. The other question that I have is why is such an inadequate
amount of funds being asked for? $2 million on the one side and $730,000 on the
other side is woefully inadequate to support ... I think one of these resolutions
supports about eight or nine programs, and the other one is only asking for five
families to be helped. As you know, I am a long -time housing advocate and I have
been doing this for a very, very long time. I am very, very tired of having to rehash
the same issues over and over and over again. We have severe inadequacies in
some of our housing issues, especially with the Housing Department. I do not know
if you are aware, but our housing on Kauai has the worst record in the nation of
retention and people falling off our list, and that is unfortunately the truth. I do not
know how far the Federal law requires reporting in the next five years, and I am
also not sure if we are talking about bricks and mortar —that was my other
question —or if we are talking about departmental procedures, policies, issues, and
also if these also include Boards, how many affected individuals are actually serving
on those boards or are the Boards of all of these individual groups 100% composed of
people who are not affected individuals and are not included in the process? So
these are some of my questions and concerns and statements, and after Housing
gets in the room, I will be real brief, maybe I can take another three minutes
because if they say something I would like to have the opportunity to ask questions
or answer back. Thank you, mahalo.
Council Chair Furfaro: We have a couple questions that Anne wants to be
posed to the Housing Department when they come over. Are we clear on what those
questions are? I am looking to anybody from the Housing Committee.
Ms. Punohu: Maybe I talk too fast. I can reclarify. I think
JoAnn knows. She knows exactly what my concerns are pretty much.
Ms. Yukimura: I do not know, I am sorry.
Mr. Rapozo: She wanted to know if the board members on the
individual boards that were on the list of projects were... basically what were the
composition of the boards and were they actually involved in the issues at hand. I
think that was her main point that she was trying to make and she had basically
hoped to hear from Housing and then she may develop some more questions after
that.
Ms. Punohu: My main issue... one of my main concerns was the
amount of money that is asked for is woefully inadequate for our five -year plan and
the amount of families being proposed to be helped is woefully inadequate. The
other issue was why is a resolution necessary for both of these items when they are
mandated by Federal law?
Ms. Yukimura: They are mandated by Federal law.
Ms. Punohu: Yes, so why is a resolution necessary?
COUNCIL MEETING - 71 - April 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura:
well taken. They only
distribute. They are no t
analyzes what our needs
those needs.
And your point about the inadequacy of the plans is
are plans for the money that is being given to us to
really—there is really no strategic Housing Plan that
are and prioritizes how we are going to be addressing
Ms. Punohu: My concern then... my question is then to the body
is who asked for those funds, why was so little requested, and why was so little
given.
Ms. Yukimura: I believe they are actual allocations that are
distributed by population and so forth. It is not about not asking for more. I think
we would willingly accept more. But I think we would like to just reserve that for
Housing when they come.
Ms. Punohu: Another question that I have then if you are stating
that fact is whose responsibility is it to get the information to those who allocate the
funds, correct information so that a good enough amount of funds are allocated for
the next five years? Where does that responsibility lie?
Ms. Yukimura: That is on all of us, Annie. That is on all of us and
we have passed resolutions supporting these Federal programs.
Ms. Punohu: But it is still inadequate.
Ms. Yukimura: But the Federal government, as you know, is
cutting back moneys.
Ms. Punohu: Thank you, mahalo.
Council Chair Furfaro: Just walk right up to the mike, Gary. I am going to
take a moment to just make an announcement to the County staff. Please, stop
calling me every time the next guy is off asking me when the next one is going to be
on and so forth. I do not have a crystal ball. As we go through this, with the
exception of taking preferred dates earlier, you just have to be ready on
Wednesdays and that was not directed at Housing. I am sorry we only got through
three items... four items in eight hours. Gary, welcome.
GARY MACKLER, Housing Agency: Good afternoon, Councilmembers. For
the record Gary Mackler, Housing Agency, and also with me is Kerri Villa, our
Community Development Block Grant Coordinator.
Council Chair Furfaro: Welcome, Kerri. So we unfortunately have just had
to ask for some copies of the resolutions. They were not in our packet because this
might have been an agenda item that I deferred two weeks ago and I want to say
those courtesies were much appreciated, but we have to go back because the
deferral was at the request of the Council Chair, and they are being passed out
right now from our fine and trusted staff. You can go ahead and start, though,
Gary.
Mr. Mackler: Actually we asked for the deferral because every
year the County of Kauai in the administration of the Community Development
Block Grant Program, as well as the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, is
required to submit an Annual Action Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development. It is a statutory requirement for the use of our CDBG Grant
and we are required under our Citizen Participation Plan to publish the Action
COUNCIL MEETING -72- April 11, 2012
Plans for citizen comment. That is a 30 -day comment period. That was done. And
the comment period ended, I believe, it was April 2, and we did transmit minutes of
the public hearing that was held to receive public comment. Before this body makes
a final decision on these resolutions, we want to be certain that you receive any
comments that we received. There were no written submittals to these Action
Plans. We are here to answer any questions that you might have about the
resolutions.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much for acknowledging that you
folks had asked for the deferral, but I had asked for the deferral on the day for the
day not knowing you and I would be on the same page. Councilmember Nakamura,
you have the floor.
Ms. Nakamura: Council Chair, I just wanted to request that we
take them separately because I think this is one where I have to recuse myself from
the CDBG portion because I am a volunteer board member of the Hawaii
Community Reinvestment Corporation and it is a statewide non - profit, but I believe
they are one of your awardees, but I will stay for the first one.
Council Chair Furfaro: You still have the floor while you are staying, and
when you leave, then I know we are on the second one.
Ms. Nakamura: I think these are all three very good programs that
you will be awarding funds. So I will be supporting this resolution.
Mr. Mackler: If you would like, I can just do a quick review of the
whole resolution just to let you know what it consists of.
Council Chair Furfaro: It would be really nice to do that.
Mr. Mackler: Let me go ahead and do that.
Mr. Rapozo: Mr. Chair, can I ... real quick.
Council Chair Furfaro: Sure.
Mr. Rapozo: Because I want to kind of address the questions
earlier and I think before you...
Council Chair Furfaro: We heard testimony while you were walking over.
Mr. Rapozo: Yes, prior to you coming in there was testimony
and really if you could as you go through these projects maybe you can start off with
an overview of the program. One of the questions... and I think we can all agree
that the amounts are not enough, we know that. It is just simply not enough to
meet the needs of Kauai, but there is also the reality that these funds are coming
from the Federal Government, so we do not control that. But if could give a very
brief overview of the program, how the projects are selected because really we would
love to see more money, but there is really a limit to what we can have.
Mr. Mackler: I would be happy to do that. I will start with the
HOME Investment Partnerships Program. This is a, as you said, it is a Federal
Program. It is a Housing Block Grant. It was enacted in 1990 and first funded in
1992. And the County of Kauai has received an annual allocation of HOME funds
which are passed through the State of Hawaii to the County. We have shared the
allocations each year with the other counties of Maui County and Hawaii County.
COUNCIL MEETING -73- April 11, 2012
The HOME Investment Partnership Program is limited to housing activities and
can be used primarily in four ways. The first is for the production of rental housing,
whether it is through acquisition, rehabilitation, or new development. Pa`anau
Village Phase II is an example of how HOME funds can be used to support the new
development of rental housing. It can also be utilized for first -time homebuyer
activities and that is through direct mortgage financing or through site
development, infrastructure loans or self -help programs. It is also available to use
for owner rehabilitation. We have never used it for that activity because we have a
rehabilitation program that is part of our CDBG revolving fund, so that pretty takes
care of that need. And then the fourth way it can be used is for tenant -based rental
assistance. This is actually money that can be programmed into a Section 8 Rental
Assistance Program. We have never used it for that activity as well and that is
primarily because we have an existing Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program
at the Housing Agency. So in our history of using this grant for the past 20 years,
predominantly it has been rental housing production and home ownership, and a
fairly balanced division between the two types of activities.
For the 2012 Home Action Plan, we are actually not receiving a new
allocation from the State for Fiscal Year 2012, and as I have explained in our
communication that accompanied the resolution, the State of Hawaii through the
Hawaii Financing Development Corporation, they made some administrative
changes last year and instead of now dividing their allocation equally among the
outer island counties, they are now rotating the entire allocation amongst the three
outer island counties. So for Fiscal Year 2012 Hawaii County is the recipient of
that allocation. They went alphabetically and I asked them to consider geologically,
but they rejected that idea, so we are in line in Fiscal Year 2013 to receive the
entire State allocation. What that consists of I can tell you because I was just
looking at the amounts for Hawaii County for 2012. The total allocation is
$2,925,000, and of that amount, the regular project funds total $2.25 million, the
15% set aside which is for Community Housing Development Organizations will
total $450,000, and the administration will be $225,000.
So what I explained in our communication that went over with the resolution
is how did we get money for fiscal year 2012 to have an Action Plan. The way we
did that is we have been able to loan home proceeds in the past for activities that
are repaid to the County of Kauai, and what we do is we have to use those proceeds
first before new money can be drawn down from the U.S. Treasury. So what
happens is when we commit money to a project, let us say a million dollar project,
and we complete that project, 50% of it is utilized with program income to pay for
the project cost, there is still half of that money left at the completion of the project.
That money gets released from that activity and reserved by Hawaii Housing
Finance Development Corporation for the County of Kauai to utilize on other home
eligible activities. So we have actually been able to, through the use of program
income that revolves back, we have been able to accumulate a substantial amount of
money. We had last year approximately $2.7 million of those accumulated funds
and the Action Plan that we are proposing for 2012 is for $2.647 million, three
activities. The first activity is what we call the Lot Development Program. This is
the construction of new housing on County -owned lots. We have built three homes
thus far, two in `Ele`ele and one in Waimea. We were not able to build the fourth
home in Waimea because of the capacity issue with the Wastewater Treatment
Plant, but that is now close to resolution so we can now get permits for a second
home on the lot and we are proposing in this Action Plan to utilize HOME Funds to
help us build that second home. That home will be constructed and sold to a
household that is below 80% of median income. It will be a leasehold sale.
COUNCIL MEETING -74- April 11, 2012
The second activity is what is referred to as `Ele`ele Iluna Phase II
Increment A and this is to assist Kauai Habitat for Humanity. They are prepared
to go forward with site development for 48 lots in the `Ele`ele Iluna Subdivision, and
we are providing a home loan, 0% loan, to assist them in the financing for the site
improvements. This is a very significant step not only for us, but for Kauai Habitat
because it is really going to make a significant impact to assist 48 first -time home
buyers who have household incomes that range between 30% to 80% of median
income. So we are really pleased that we can bring these HOME Funds to the
forefront to help Kauai Habitat.
The third activity that we are proposing in this action plan is to provide
additional funds to assist our home buyer loan program to have mortgage financing
that can be made available for low income households to acquire existing homes.
We have used HOME Funds in the past for this activity. It has been a while, but it
is not unfamiliar to us to use HOME Funds for this activity. So those three
activities total $2,647,084.00 and this action plan, we think, will assist upwards of
54 households, 54 low- income families with opportunities for first -time
homeownership.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum, you have the floor.
Mr. Bynum: Hi Gary, when I reviewed this I was thrilled,
especially helping Habitat with infrastructure. These are all very worthy projects.
I have been doing some research since and I do not know if...I sent you an email
recently. You may not have seen it because I think it was just a few days ago. But I
think I just heard you say that these funds could be used for Section 8. I do not
know if I want to go into it now, but that was an eye opener to me, and that was the
question I was going to ask. So I did hear that correctly, right?
Mr. Mackler: Yes.
Mr. Bynum: I will just say that I found some data recently that
says we are only using half of the Section 8 vouchers that we could. This may not
be the appropriate time to do follow -up questions, but it really... maybe there is... I
know that these issues are complex and that is why I sent you this email saying I
want to meet because at least what I have seen here from the Center on Budget and
Policy Decisions, it looks pretty damning for the State of Hawaii in general and for
Kauai specifically. So there may be other explanations. Now I am kind of reluctant
to approve this until I have those answers, but I will not hold it up because I have
so much faith in the great work that your agency has done in the years I have been
involved in the County. Your judgment is probably much better than mine, but I
will follow up with those questions later.
Mr. Mackler: Thank you, I just wanted to say to you that yes, we
did look at your email and I did pass it along to the Section 8 Program Manager,
and it is not as bad as it looks based on that material that you attached. I do want
to explain that one of the reasons we have not used HOME Funds for tenant -based
rental assistance is one we have a Section 8 Program existing. But the other reason
is actually we think it is more beneficial to use this Block Grant to produce rental
housing, to produce homeownership opportunities. We really have held that in a
higher priority really since the entire 20 years of administering this program, and
our thinking really has not changed on that just so you know.
Mr. Bynum: I look forward to a follow -up discussion because I
think a lot of my focus has been people are out there hurting right now today on
Kauai. Housing is still a huge issue and maybe those priorities should be different
COUNCIL MEETING -75- April 11, 2012
when we are in difficult times. It is not impacting everybody the same, but we have
had business closures, we have had people lose their jobs, we still have... When I
read this stuff and I am glad to hear you say it is not as bad as it looks and I will
follow up with you, but it certainly is a concern.
Mr. Mackler: Yes.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, in fact we will make it a committee agenda
item. I want to say that I think the idea of using and reusing the moneys to provide
housing, long -term affordable housing, whether for ownership or rental, is really the
best use of the money. But we also should be making the best use of our HUD
voucher moneys as well, so we want to look at that. My question is actually a
question that was asked earlier by Ms. Punohu. First before I go there, the
$2.6 million that we are spending this year is basically recycled accumulated
money.
Mr. Mackler: It is money that the State is holding for us in
reserve.
Ms. Yukimura: Right and the new money that will be our share in
its totality for one year is still forthcoming in 2013.
Mr. Mackler: Correct.
Ms. Yukimura: So one of Ms. Punohu's questions was why are you
not asking for more money, and I think, and correct me if I am wrong, that we
actually have certain allocations determined by population and so forth that are not
because of the lack of asking.
Mr. Mackler: That is correct. The HOME Program is a formula
grant and it is population based. The State of Hawaii receives the minimum
allocation that a state can receive under the HOME statute, which is $3 million.
Ms. Yukimura: So what you are doing, though, to expand the
moneys is this system of recycling the loan money that comes back.
Mr. Mackler: Yes, as a strategy to maximize the resources that
we receive through this grant, which the State makes available to this County,
utilizing it in a way from time to time that we can revolve it back through loans. It
has been a strategy that we have used over the years, and for the most part it has
worked out quite well for us.
Ms. Yukimura: And the other question asked was this plan that
you have it is not addressing all the needs for housing on Kauai. I believe the plan
is just basically for the moneys that are available through the HOME Program?
Mr. Mackler: The consolidated plan that I made reference to
covers the Community Development Block Grant Program as well as the HOME
Investment Partnerships Program, and it sets forth the strategic priorities for
five years as to how we will expend those dollars. I can tell you that the amount of
resources we receive through both of those grants are not even close to the kind of
resources it would take to address all of the housing needs on this island. So, as I
COUNCIL MEETING -76- April 11, 2012
said, as a strategy we have been able to stretch the dollars quite a bit, but I would
recognize the fact that it is well below the dollar resources that one would need to
really do everything that needs to be done.
Ms. Yukimura: Right, so what I hope that we will be able to work
on and that the Housing Agency will be able to work on is an overall strategic plan,
not just based on the Federal moneys we get, but a plan that will guide all of the
Housing activities in terms of what the priorities are. I do not think anyone is going
to try to meet all housing needs, but certainly we have a responsibility to be
strategic about our resources and to figure out how we are going to move as an
agency or department in addressing the kuleana of affordable housing. So we will
discuss more of that during budget time.
Mr. Mackler: That is fine, sure.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Councilmember Kuali`i, you have the floor.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple of quick
question to understand the program more. So it is a grant from the Federal
Government that comes to the County. So the County is the recipient of the grant.
Mr. Mackler: With regard to the HOME Program, it goes first to
the State of Hawaii. They are what is called the "participating jurisdiction." And
then the State passes through funds to each of the counties. The City & County of
Honolulu gets its own direct allocation of HOME Funds.
Mr. Kuali`i: So in these three awards, if you will, A, B, and C, A
is County Housing Agency, C is County Housing Agency, but B is Kauai Habitat for
Humanity, which is not a County...
Mr. Mackler: That is correct.
Mr. Kuali`i: They are like a sub... can they apply to you to get a
sub - grant? How does that work?
Mr. Mackler: Well, what we do each year —I do not think I spoke
to this —each year we make available applications for the HOME Program as well
as the CDBG Program. But to be an eligible applicant, individuals are not eligible
applicants for the HOME funding; non - profit, for - profit, and government entities
are eligible applicants. So if you look at our three activities, the first being the Lot
Development Program, that is the County's application for the use of those funds to
build a home on a parcel that is owned by the County in Waimea. The third activity
is an existing program that we have been administering from our agency since
1996. This is our Home Buyer Program and we are proposing to utilize part of the
Home Funds that are available to support the activities under that program. And
then with the `Ele`ele Phase II Increment A activity, we will enter into a third -party
agreement with Kauai Habitat for Humanity for the use of those funds. So they
will be passed through the County to the non - profit organization for the site
development.
Mr. Kuali`i: For that one, `Ele`ele, where you said eligible
applicants, what is the range of the grant? From amount of dollars to what amount
of dollars?
COUNCIL MEETING -77- April 11, 2012
Mr. Mackler: The way it works out is with 48 lots being
produced, it comes out to $40,000 per lot.
Mr. Kuali`i: Another entity next year that wants to apply, they
can be eligible for up to $40,000 per lot or?
Mr. Mackler: Actually under the HOME Program, there is what
are called maximum per subsidy limits for each housing unit. You can utilize
HOME Funds up to the maximum limit based on the bedroom size of the unit. So
for example for a three - bedroom unit, it would be $227,000 per unit of HOME
subsidy. That is the maximum. It is less for a two - bedroom or a one - bedroom or a
studio. But those limits are requirements under the grant.
Mr. Kuali`i: So do you get a lot of applicants?
Mr. Mackler: Typically no, we do not. What we do from time to
time when we can make HOME Funds available for a site specific project, like we
did for Pa`anau Village Phase II, we issued an RFP to select a developer, and also to
make HOME Funds available there as gap financing. We can do it that way. We
have some flexibility as a County in the way we make these funds available. We
would like to partner with non - profits. It is really the best way we think to get good
projects done, but not in all cases. We may want to utilize funds directly as a
County.
Mr. Kuali`i: So the last thing on this mortgage financing to
assist five first -time homebuyers, homeowners, that would be loans?
Mr. Mackler: Through loans.
Mr. Kuali`i: Then that is recycled money, then it comes back
(inaudible).
Mr. Mackler: Yes, in fact if you look at this Action Plan, this
$2.6 million Action Plan, it is all loaned. So there is more program income coming
back over time.
Mr. Kuali`i: And you are able to provide those loans at lower
than anybody else or?
Mr. Mackler: Our Homebuyer Program provides 3% mortgage
financing and while the market has become closer to what we provided, we are still
a little below.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you so much, keep up the good work.
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes, I will say the same. Keep up the good work,
but next time we are standing in line for money, tell him how about the oldest first.
Mr. Mackler: Oldest?
Council Chair Furfaro: Kauai is geologically the oldest first.
Mr. Mackler: That was my argument. It did not fly, though.
COUNCIL MEETING -78- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: It did not fly. Any more questions on this side
before we go to the next item? We have Anne who wants to speak. Anne, I am only
going to give you three minutes because you had your time earlier.
ANNE PUNOHU: Anne Punohu for the record. I want to be very
clear of what I have just heard in this room, and I want it clarified very definitely.
What I just heard is housing voucher moneys are being used for non -HUD voucher
purposes, and so clear it up, that is fine, but I have something else to say too,
because there is an issue in the Housing Department here on Kauai which is very
serious. We have waitlists. We have a lot of homeless on the street right now. I am
dealing with some of them personally myself. Our focus should not be on who can
own a house right now. We need to make sure that we do not divert any funds from
extreme low income and low income housing voucher programs. The lists are open
and as many people as possible get those vouchers, and all of that includes the fight
that I have had for many... a couple of years, when my daughter was alive, with
JoAnn and others is to prevent the problem and issue of discrimination against
HUD vouchers. It is all part of using the money for what it is for and for the
purposes that it is for and making sure that it is lobbied for as hard as possible, not
only at the Federal level, but at that State level. And I do not share your opinion of
a job well done because I know the situation on the street. It is inadequate. You
are going to see a socioeconomic condition and more damage out there in the street.
As the months go on it is going to become very much more apparent to you visually
as it is on Oahu. All you have to do is take a look at O`ahu's situation. This is the
same department that doles out funding as you just heard to Kauai and you can see
how they take care of it on Oahu. I am very passionate about this right now and I
feel emotional about it right now because I have been fighting for this for so long
and I feel like I am not being listened to, and I see it out in the street by the
suffering of the people. And what you heard in this room today is not enough, nor
should it be considered enough, nor should we stand by and say that is all we can
do. We need to fight harder, try harder, and make sure that every dollar is spent
where it should be spent, and it needs to be the focus on the low low income, people
that are out there in the bush, people that are out there with their families. These
people need to get off the street and into permanent housing. Housing is great. I
would love to have a house. I understand where they are coming from, but when I
heard about housing voucher funds, I need that clarified in this room immediately
because what I heard, hopefully I heard wrong. Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Would you come up again while I recognize
Mr. Bynum? I want Gary to come up and I will let Mr. Bynum address you in that
interpretation and if it is different, you can share the mike. Annie has already had
three 3- minute periods on the floor. Mr. Bynum, you have the floor.
Mr. Bynum: In fairness to you, I just looked at and I sent you
that email on Friday, so I would not have expected that you responded to me as of
yet, especially when we are in budget hearings and stuff. I am reluctant and I am
going to stick by what I said. What I have seen of the Housing Agency is
outstanding work. I do not know as much about the Section 8 section and most of
my dialogue with you has been about Pa`anau, Kalepa Village, Habitat or 864, I
think it is, her housing thing, and I have seen nothing but good decisions and
competence. But I want to express a concern and I share Annie's passion. It is
news to me that HOME Funds could be used for Section 8, and just to say on the
record what I saw in this research is that 50% of our available potential vouchers
are not being used and I think it is still true that there is a waiting list. So the
question it raises in me is given the current economic sense, because you said the
policy has been for a long time to create housing for the working class here, which is
an admirable goal. Could not Section 8 have a quicker turnaround in terms of
COUNCIL MEETING -79- April 11, 2012
people that are homeless or overcrowded right now than investing funds in long-
term build out? I was not going to ask these questions today, but it is just a
juxtaposition of this information and this being before us. Because if I had more
time I may end up saying no, we should amend this. We should divert some of these
potential funds to immediate housing issues that Section 8 can do. But I do not
know enough to make that judgment, right? I want to learn. But should we de£..so
I am going to make this question ... I have asked a couple... should we defer this a
couple more weeks? Is it time sensitive? Is it possible that a full policy discussion
on this would result in a conclusion that maybe some of these available funds, given
our current economic situation, should be diverted to things that can address people
quickly.
Mr. Mackler: Well, the issue that you refer to with Section 8, the
number of allocations that we can issue out under the Section 8 Program, and I am
not the Program Manager for that side of the Agency, but I will say this. It is based
on the total budget we receive. The information that you passed along to us showed
a number of vouchers of approximately 1300 I seem to recall. That is an old
number. That is a number that took into account not only what we used to receive,
which was in the 700 voucher range, but it also included temporary vouchers that
were issued to the County after Hurricane Iniki, and I think, Councilmember
Yukimura, you may recall we had temporary, we used to call them TDA, they were
additional disaster vouchers that were provided to the Section 8 Program. Given
the total budget that is made available to us through the Section 8 Rental
Assistance Program, we can push out approximately 700 to 750 vouchers. That is
really where it falls. So that percentage of under utilization, it really is not an
accurate picture of where we are in terms of utilizing our vouchers. I just want you
to know that. I do not have the exact number because it is not the program that I
work on, but I just want you to understand that what you passed along to us does
not paint an accurate picture of utilization of vouchers.
As far as the HOME Program, I did say that it can be used... one of the
activities is tenant -based vouchers, tenant -based rental assistance. It is available
for up to 24 months. It can assist a family for up to 24 months with, like the Section
8 vouchers, assist. However, I will tell you that the priorities that we now have in
our consolidated plan do not address tenant -based rental assistance. It has not
been recognized as a priority in that plan. The priorities in that plan are rental
housing, new construction for either multi - family or for seniors, and in the area of
homeownership, it is homeownership activities which are developed through
homebuyer loans and self -help building programs. Those are the priorities that we
have in the current consolidated plan, and if you look at this Action Plan, it is
hitting those priorities in terms of the homeownership side right on the target. I
would also inform you that we have to have these Action Plans to HUD by May 15.
That is a statutory requirement, so we have to meet that every year. And I would
like to ask this Council to consider its approval of this resolution today if at all
possible.
Mr. Bynum: So this data that I have that says there is 673
vouchers in use, but there is a potential authorized voucher of 1300, that is not
accurate.
Mr. Mackler: It is not accurate because the number of vouchers
that we can actually issue out is based on the budget that HUD makes available to
us, and it is not 1300 vouchers. It is far below that.
COUNCIL MEETING -80- April 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum: I do not have any intention of holding this up,
Gary. I definitely want to follow up and understand this section of the Housing
Agency, which I hear loud and clear you are not that section. Because it was not
just about housing, it was about the State of Hawai`i's overall impact on the
working poor.
Mr. Mackler:
Right.
Mr. Bynum: Right and so I will follow up separately. I
appreciate you answering these questions preliminarily, and I will ask Eugene to
send me to the right staff person that can give me...
Mr. Mackler: We have already and we will be talking about it on
Friday and we will be getting a response back to you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Good, then Vice Chair Yukimura will have it in her
Housing Committee where it belongs, not on this resolution item. Okay? We need
to take a caption break here for 10 minutes and then we have a second resolution,
and then and only then will the Council get back to page 2 of our agenda.
There being no objections, the meeting was recessed at 4:32 p.m.
The meeting was called back to order at 4:41 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: We are back from our recess and I am hoping that
we can vote on this resolution. But are there any more questions for the Housing
staff that is here. If not, Gary, I am going to ask you step aside and ask if there is
other public testimony. Is there anyone else that would like to come up and give
testimony? This would be the time. Gary, you can come back to the podium. Are
there any more questions on this resolution before I call for the vote? There is none.
This will be a roll call vote on this resolution.
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2012 -27 was then put, and carried
by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo, TOTAL — 7,
Yukimura, Furfaro
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Council Chair Furfaro: I would like to go to the next resolution that deals
with the Housing Department and Councilmember Nakamura will recuse herself
for this period of time.
( Councilmember Nakamura was noted recused at 4:46 p.m.)
Resolution No. 2012 -28, RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF
THE KAUAI COUNTY 2012 ACTION PLAN (COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
BLOCK GRANT) WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FOR A GRANT UNDER
TITLE I OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974
AND 1987 (PUBLIC LAWS 93 -383 AND 100 -242), AS AMENDED: Mr. Rapozo
moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2012 -28, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Council Chair Furfaro: Gary, you want to give us the highlights of the
resolution?
COUNCIL MEETING -81- April 11, 2012
There being no objections, the rules were suspended
GARY MACKLER, Housing Agency: What I would like to do is, if you do
not mind, turn it over to Kerri Villa, our CDBG Coordinator, and I will ask her to
give you those highlights.
Council Chair Furfaro: Kerri, the floor is yours. You have to introduce
yourself.
KERRI VILLA, Housing Agency: Aloha, I am Kerri Villa from the Kauai
County Housing Agency from the Community Development Block Grant Program
also known as CDBG. I wanted to thank the Councilmembers for their past support
all these years for the CDBG Program. It is in its 38th year program. Funds come
directly from the HUD straight to the County of Kauai for our CDBG Program.
And it is also a formula funded program based on population. So every year HUD
informs us on our allocation for the program year. And so this year we are coming
before you for the Action Plan for the Program Year 2012.
Mr. Chang: Kerri, excuse me, just for the benefit of the viewing
audience, can you just describe or say what is HUD, H -U -D, please.
Ms. Villa: The Department of Housing and Urban
Development. Thank you. So the CDBG Program is mainly to develop viable
communities, and this is done principally for low and moderate income persons on
the island, and these are done through various projects and activities that include
public services, economic development, housing, and public facilities. These are the
priorities that the Kauai County Housing has identified in our consolidated plan.
So this year we received 20 applications and we are recommending... (inaudible) 12
projects along with 2 alternative projects.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much for that overview. Are there
any more questions before I ask for public testimony? Mr. Bynum?
Mr. Bynum: Kerri, so people in the community were able to
submit proposals?
Ms. Villa: Yes, it is an application process and these are due
in January. It goes through a review committee process. Each reviewer looks at an
individual application first and scores it. And then the committee comes together
and gets an overall average score for each application. And then of course they are
ranked from the highest score. And then we look at the priorities. So our first
priority is public service. There is a 15% cap on the overall grant that can be
allocated for public services. And then our next priority is housing... economic
development.
Mr. Bynum: I do not want to take a lot of time. You have
answered my question, and I just want to say that this is a really well- rounded and
thoughtful proposal. A few years ago I was not happy we were buying fire trucks
and stuff that I did not think really met the spirit of the law. That was a wave long
time ago, right. And so thank you for your good work. And just at NACo, at the
National Association of Counties, you have every municipality in the country
lobbying the Federal Government to continue these HUD fundings, the CDBG
Funds, that are very much under threat from one particular political party. Thank
you for your good work.
COUNCIL MEETING -82- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Are there any more questions before I ask for public
testimony. If not, may I ask you to vacate the area there, and I will see if there is
anyone up? Anne is first.
ANNE PUNOHU: My name is Anne Punohu and I have several
questions to ask and I also have several comments. My first question is how much
funds are allocated for the total of these programs for administrative costs versus
what directly goes to the affected individuals and programs. My comment is how
many affected individuals sit on the Board of Directors of these various groups
because the participation of the individuals who are to be served by these programs
is, I believe, a part of a Federal mandate and I would like to know if that is true or
not, but I have heard that that is part of it and I would like to know what the
make -up is and if that is being done. My other comment is again, the amount of
money is under a million, under a million. What lobby efforts are being made at
what level to make sure that we increase this funding in the future, and what is the
effectiveness of each of these programs, and what is their performance?
Council Chair Furfaro: And I will answer your lobbyist one. We do have a
contract service in Washington to lobby for these Federal funds.
Ms. Punohu: You need a new one. Send me. I will get you a lot
more money than seven - hundred and something thousand dollars.
Council Chair Furfaro
Ms. Punohu:
Council Chair Furfaro
You really do believe that?
Absolutely.
Okay.
Ms. Punohu: Look at me. Who is going to tell me no? Nobody.
Council Chair Furfaro: I will send your name over to the Mayor. They do
the selecting process, and I will ask Gary to come up and answer your first two
questions.
Ms. Punohu: Mahalo, thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Gary, did you folks catch those questions?
Mr. Mackler: Could you restate them for me, please?
Council Chair Furfaro: Number one is about the mandate of any group
that might be on the Board of Directors of this organization for representation.
Mr. Mackler: Representation of those who may be benefited.
There is no requirement of any kind whatsoever for the CDBG Program and the
activities that it funds to have that in place.
Council Chair Furfaro: And how are applications solicited?
Mr. Mackler: What we do is each year we issue out an
application publicly. We use a public notice. We hold three public workshops, one
in Lihu`e, one in Kapa`a, one in Waimea. We send out a letter that goes out to
approximately 140 places to all of the non - profit communities and other past
recipients of the grant to let them know that applications are now available. We
start in early November. We hold three public workshops. We post our application
COUNCIL MEETING -83- April 11, 2012
on the County's website. We provide technical assistance to any potential applicant
that is interested in applying for these grant funds. For those who are not funded,
we also continue to work with them if they are interested to help them improve and
come back again the following year. It is a public process that we are required by
HUD to follow. It is part of our Citizen Participation Plan and it is essentially the
same every year.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, I think that answers the questions that
makeup so. Thank you very much. I am going to see if there is anyone else who
wants to give public testimony. There was a lady who was present earlier. Thank
you for coming, for testifying, and then you just need to introduce yourself before
you start your presentation.
PENNY TAKETA: I am Penny Taketa. I am a teacher and the
co- director of `Ae Kamali`i Preschool. I am here to thank you as a potential recipient
of a grant to repair and refurbish our roof at the school. We are a small non - profit
school, a mission of Lihu`e Christian Church, and we are tuition - based, so we do not
have extra money. And this grant has been a godsend to us because with the last
rain we had, we had to close two days because the rooms were leaking so bad we
could not be in the classrooms. So I just wanted to come and say thank you and I
am very supportive of the work and the training that I got from them in preparing
for the grant. So that was all.
Council Chair Furfaro: Well, it is very nice of you to come down in person,
thank the Housing Division for the training and the opportunity to apply for this
grant, especially for the educational purposes of our keiki. Thank you very much.
Council Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, thank you. Penny, by coming here you sort of
put a human face on these words and on these programs, and certainly preschool
education is one of the most important parts of education on this island. So we are
really thankful for the work you are doing and glad that CDBG moneys can help in
that area.
Ms. Taketa: Yes, we are very, very grateful.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you once again. Thank you. Yes,
Mr. Chang.
Mr. Chang: I really do not have a question, but I also wanted to
thank you, Penny, for your patience and thank you for coming over here because it
does put a face on the good efforts, and hopefully we will get that roof repaired
really quickly, but I do want to comment on the things that are not under your roof.
And that is the fact that you folks are hands -on teaching our kids, first on what it is
to grow your own food. I do want to say that. Every part of the building and the
outside is sustainable, if you will, from all kinds of different plants, flowers,
vegetables, and I want to just comment bringing in experts, bringing in teachers,
bringing in self - conservation people, people that grow, to have the kids actually
grow, get their hands dirty, but it is their seed that eventually flourishes that they
get to eat.
COUNCIL MEETING -84- April 11, 2012
Ms. Taketa: We just had our first big harvest. We had so much
lettuce and beans and spinach that we had to send it home. We have had lettuce for
five days in a row and the kids went, "Lettuce again ?" But yes, thank you. It is
enjoyable. It is my passion. It keeps me young and it is very rewarding to me. So
thank you very much.
Council Chair Furfaro: On a side note, I think Dickie needs help with his
garden.
Ms. Taketa: He came and he was supposed to pick up mint, but
he kept forgetting, so now I have to replant for him.
Mr. Chang: She insisted that I take some mint, so took that
personal, I guess.
Ms. Taketa: Yes, I twisted his arm.
Mr. Chang: I will trade you some oregano and chili peppers for
your lettuce, thank you.
Ms. Taketa: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much for the testimony. Is there
anyone else who wants to testify on this resolution before we take a vote.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: If not, we have a motion and a second, and we will
take a roll call vote, please.
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2012 -28 was then put, and carried
by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo, TOTAL — 6,
Yukimura, Furfaro
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: Nakamura TOTAL — 1.
There being no objection, C 2012 -104 was taken out of order.
Ms. Nakamura was noted present in the meeting.
Council Chair Furfaro: I would like to go to the treasurer, and I want to
re -read C 2012 -104. We will go back to page 1, please, item C 2012 -104. If we could
call the treasurer in? We had the item read. It was earlier on the Consent
Calendar, and now we will just take a vote on this item. Just a one -time voice vote.
C 2012 -104 Communication (3/20/2012) from the Director of Finance,
transmitting the Condition of the County Treasury Statement quarterly report as of
February 10, 2012: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -104 for the record,
seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Furfaro: Let us go to Lyle's item.
COUNCIL MEETING -85- April 11, 2012
There being no objection, C 2012 -63 was taken out of order.
C 2012 -63 Communication (02/16/2012) from Councilmember Rapozo,
requesting the Administration's presence to provide the Council with:
• An annual (2011 calendar year) synopsis of construction activity in
the County of Kauai as reflected in the building permit information
that is normally provided to the Council on a monthly basis.
• A projection of construction activity in the County of Kauai for the
2012 calendar year.
Council Chair Furfaro: Lyle, thank you for coming back. The item was
read. It was Mr. Rapozo's item on the agenda, so Mr. Rapozo.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Rapozo: The report is difficult to read, but the whole
purpose of this was actually for the Building Division and I am not sure how you
ended up with this.
LYLE TABATA, Deputy County Engineer: For the record Lyle Tabata,
Deputy County Engineer, Public Works. The Building Division falls under the
management of Public Works. Doug is off - island, but I have a full understanding of
this report. So this is a summary report. If you all have your copies, I can walk us
through. So the chart, look at the chart. The meat of this report, if you look in the
large block, are the different agencies under Agency, and you have on the far left
Commercial Permits and Residential Building Permits on the large chart.
Mr. Rapozo: I do not know... mine are like the same, every page
is the same.
Mr. Tabata: I think you have multiple copies of the same thing.
So it is just the first page. We can go with the first page.
Mr. Rapozo: They are identical. I have like 10 pages of the same
sheet. How many are we supposed to have? Just one?
Mr. Tabata: Yes, just one sheet.
Mr. Rapozo: That is what was confusing.
Mr. Tabata: Maybe to all because even I have three sheets of
the same thing, sorry.
Mr. Rapozo:
rest, right?
I have... and it is double- sided. So I can toss all the
Mr. Tabata: I am pretty sure. So you go to this sheet and then I
will focus on this. We have two types of permits: Commercial and Residential. The
next column is the Agency, and for instance, the first line it says "Building" and
then "Building Applicant." So the first line, the total number for the year issued
last fiscal year was 304 commercial building permits. The Max column is indicative
of the total maximum number of days to review the permit and submit back to the
applicant. So under that it says "Building Applicant." That is the number of
reviews that were sent back for either their comments or corrections, and the
maximum number of days for them to respond has been 60, and the average has
been 7 days. And so for the first line, the initial reviews, the maximum day —it
COUNCIL MEETING -86- April 11, 2012
might be an outlier —was 71 and the average is 4.9 days. And so the next line, you
go to "Electrical," 256 reviews, maximum 39 days, and average of 1.7 days. The
applicants to respond, there were 49 responses, the maximum days was 520 for
them to respond back to our comments or need for corrections. But the average has
been 41.39 days for them to respond back to us. And then it cascades all the way
down. You can see the total permit reviews for the year, maximum time in days for
our review and for the applicant to respond, and the maximum and the average,
and then underneath the applicant's response. And then you go down to
Residential and so forth. I know Engineering had been singled out previously, but
they have been really good, 21 maximum, the average of 5.2 days. It is pretty
revealing even for myself when I saw this information, and I appreciate it. Thank
you for requesting for this because it is good to see in a year the window. It just
goes down and you can see there are some areas that need work.
Mr. Rapozo: I think... Mr. Chair, if I may?
Council Chair Furfaro: Go right ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: This was always an issue, and what is revealing is
the amount of time that the applicants...
Mr. Tabata: In their court to respond to us.
Mr. Rapozo: Correct, when they have the chore of bringing some
corrections back, that stalls, a lot of the stalling is at that location. So I appreciate
this and I am glad you brought this. This is not what I had expected, but I am glad
you brought it because it does meet the agenda's request and maybe I did not make
my request clear enough, but nonetheless, I will take advantage of this opportunity
because it is a good time to discuss the...
Mr. Tabata: I think the other part of the question was
projections, and it is really hard for us. I know we do not have economists in -house
in our the Engineering, the Building Department, but there are statistics and
statistics can be reviewed.
Mr. Rapozo: I think what I would ... I do not know if this is
something that you would do or Finance or someone, but based on the amount
of .. and if you went back, let us say you went back five or eight years or so, and let
us just say (to make it real simple) 100 permits were applied for and the average
annual build out of those permits let us say was 30 %. Out of 100 people that came
in, 30% of them actually built out. I do not know what that number is, I am just
guessing. And what is that trend so we can kind of have a ballpark figure so if we
issued $50 million worth of permits, projects that would generate $50 million of tax
revenue, we can safely say that 30% of that would be realized. That is kind of what
I was looking at so we can gauge our projections as we do the budget. And again I
do not think that is something that you folks would...
Mr. Tabata: Yes, we do not really track that information until
building permits are closed.
Mr. Rapozo: Right.
Mr. Tabata: And some permits run over several years.
COUNCIL MEETING -87- April 11, 2012
Mr. Rapozo:
application to issuance,
is like what?
Mr. Tabata:
I am just looking at this ... in your days of
the maximum on a Residential Permit was 1200 days. That
The maximum, that is a maximum.
Mr. Rapozo: So one applicant, and again, I do not know which
one that is, but you would assume that that is probably an applicant issue, but that
is like almost four years and could be for various reasons. But when you look at
approval, how many of those permits were actually approved and then how many
were built out. I am not sure if we have the mechanism in place to even track that.
I guess you would have to kind of track between Building and Finance.
Mr. Tabata: I guess we can track it by the Certificate of
Occupancy. When that is filed, then we can close the...
Mr. Rapozo: Right, so something to think about.
Mr. Tabata:
There are mechanisms.
Mr. Rapozo: I do not expect that before this budget session, but
somehow maybe ... I am not sure how we can do it.
Mr. Tabata: I think the big milestone was getting an annual
report. And now we can go back over past years. I am not volunteering that we
would. Give my guys more work.
Council Chair Furfaro: You do not need to volunteer, Lyle. The value of
the building permits is in a separate report, of which I gave Mr. Bynum the last
two years' totals. Then 47% of that is forecastable by trend as to which comes into
taxable categories after the building permit values (inaudible). That is what
Mr. Rapozo was looking for.
Mr. Rapozo: So it is 47 %.
Council Chair Furfaro: 47% of what is built in a 12 -month period, the value
of the building, that particular part. But I wanted to share here that you have
$167,000 in an account. That account deals with expediting permits. There is a fee
contributed in there. That account is supposed to be washed out when it hits
$100,000. But it is intended that if you are having problems with processing
permits and so forth, you can hit this account for manpower, contracted manpower.
So I think that is a big part that you need to make sure you are aware of.
Mr. Tabata: And we are using this account.
Council Chair Furfaro: I will tell you as of yesterday that account is at
$167,127 and should never have exceeded $100,000. That money should have been
transferred elsewhere or you have lots of room where you can hire some temporary
help to focus on expediting permits. That is what that revolving account is for. The
separate report will give us the forecast and why do I know these? I worked on both
these reports. That is what they were made for. Somewhere along the line in the
transition, I just think once a month you and Larry talk story a little bit, and you
say, "Hey, what is in that revolving account ?" And if you need some help, tap it.
Mr. Tabata: Thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING -88- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Thanks for this report, Lyle, and without going
back to previous years, I have been reading these reports for years and there is
improvement at the Division level. The Building Division averaged four days, the
plumbing. Some of these are not County departments. The biggest one on here is
the Health Department at 15 days roughly, and that is a State Agency, right? So
for just edification, this permit comes in, it goes to the Building Division, stays a
couple... average four days. That is pretty quick. It goes to Planning. Planning is a
little higher. It stays 15 days in Planning on average, right. But you folks cannot
do anything with it while it is in Planning, right. It has to come back and ... Health
Department, you do not have any... So some of these are Public Works departments
and you mentioned that Engineering clearly is performing much better than in the
past.
Mr. Tabata: Yes, it has.
Mr. Bynum: Within acceptable limits as far as I am concerned.
But you do not control the Health Department, the Planning Department, and some
of the other... Fire Department that these permits go, correct?
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Lyle, just a reminder, that fund that we put aside
to expedite these permits, that is at your discretion for County Agencies. Vice Chair
Yukimura, did you want to question?
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, two things. Do you feel that you folks are
meeting your standard or your goal for permit processing?
Mr. Tabata: Until this report, I doubted because of all the
complaints we received. But after reviewing this with Larry, we feel that of course
there are areas to improve in County with our partners, but we are pretty satisfied
right now from what we have seen and comments have been made that we have
been improving. Our goal now is to work with our other partners now that we have
identified.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, because part of the reason for the faster time
may be that you have fewer permits to process than at the height of the building
boom when complaints were sky high, and when the system will tend to break down
because it is in overload and so forth.
Mr. Tabata: Right.
Ms. Yukimura: So the question is can you operate ... we are in a
down period. When we go back to normal or when we start picking up, will we be
able to handle? And as the Chair pointed out, there is a fund to help with
additional personnel, but the question is whether the processes themselves are at
their optimum.
COUNCIL MEETING -89- April 11, 2012
Mr. Tabata: I think the funds that the Chair speaks of are flex
funds, so to speak, and we do have one inspector /reviewer on the fund and we
recently hired a clerk on the fund like two months ago, and so as the need will arise,
as was suggested, Larry and I review with the Division head and we can make
those determinations.
Ms. Yukimura: Right.
Mr. Tabata: I did not know there was a threshold of a hundred.
Council Chair Furfaro: It is a hundred thousand threshold. Anything more
than that is supposed to go back to the General Fund.
Mr. Tabata: Okay. Do not let Wally hear that.
Ms. Yukimura: Well, they might catch it in the audit. So better
that you correct it now.
Mr. Tabata:
Definitely.
Ms. Yukimura: But my question is... so there is... if it is just a
matter of more positions, then you have this fund that can help you address that.
The question is whether the process itself is in order now and now is the time when
the volume is low to really make that kind of review.
Mr. Tabata: And so part of the process, as we speak, hopefully
will be enhanced in this down period with the conversion to the ePlan.
Ms. Yukimura: Right.
Mr. Tabata: I was just notified that next week all week there is
a workshop that is being scheduled and I am trying to find a slot for me to slip in
there too. But hopefully that conversion to all electronic means will enhance the
process so that we do not need to move stacks of paper desk -to -desk, and if it can be
dust once an agency has reviewed, they click their approval, and multiple agencies
can be reviewing at the same time versus move a stack of paper from desk to desk.
Ms. Yukimura: Well good, we will look forward to that and I guess
it would be reflected in the statistics at some point in time too.
Mr. Tabata: Right.
Ms. Yukimura: So my last question is I think we get monthly
reports and I was wondering about the need for monthly reports. It is a lot of paper
and as long as you do have a tracking system in place maybe it is every six months
unless it is of use for us. I do not know that...
Council Chair Furfaro: I think the monthly has great value in reflecting
back on things. The other thing is now it does not even come up as a discussion
item. We get the report to look at and it is on the Consent Calendar.
Mr. Tabata: So a periodic review like this, I think, is healthy.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, I think annual or biannual.
Mr. Tabata: The check and balance is always helpful.
COUNCIL MEETING -90- April 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Before I recognize Councilmember Nakamura and
then Kuali`i, I want to tell you this report that I participated in, it still is not
answering my piece so that you do not get bad reflections. When we are carrying
things like a...we have a 41 -day approval on an applicant for electric, but we have
one applicant sitting out there for 520 days. At some point the guy is either serious
about building or he is out of the picture. You go through this and you have one
application at 300 days for plumbing, you have one application in Planning for
565 days, you have one for ... I cannot quite read this, but it is in Building for
730 days.
Mr. Tabata: It skews the average.
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes, it skews the average. It distorts your
performance, but I am saying at some point I have always said the guy may not be
serious. He may have run into other problems that have nothing to do with
Building.
Mr. Tabata: I think there is a process and I need to find out for
sure that after X- amount, I think it was two years, it gets closed automatically with
no activity.
Council Chair Furfaro: However that 720 days is still in there.
Councilwoman Nakamura, you have the floor.
Mr. Tabata:
Yes.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you, Lyle, for your presentation and for the
report. I am looking at the Residential box at the bottom of the table, and I notice
that up above in the Commercial section you have Electrical, how much time the
Building — Electrical took, and then you have how much the applicant took too.
There is no Building — Electrical, so I do not know from looking at this how long on
the Residential side the Building — Electrical took, and I do not know how long the
Building — Plumbing took, but I know how long the applicants took to respond.
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Ms. Nakamura: So I think... are a couple of rows missing?
Mr. Tabata: I think so.
Ms. Nakamura: That is one observation. The second one is I am
just wondering if average is the best number to use or we should look at median, the
median. Just another question on the last column. And do you think the five
months to process Commercial and Residential permits from the date of application
to issuance is basically around five months. Is that, you think, typical for counties
in the State of Hawaii, that turnaround?
Mr. Tabata: I cannot answer that. I am sorry. In my previous
employment I experienced lots of frustration like a lot of contractors, and...
Ms. Nakamura: You know the other side of the...
COUNCIL MEETING _91- April 11, 2012
Mr. Tabata: Yes, I know the other side of the fence, so Larry
and I are working to make improvements and this is very revealing that we have
statistics now to react to.
Ms. Nakamura: Right, and if you look at this —maybe this will come
up in our budget discussions —but if you had to pick one or two areas of
improvement, given this data, do you have any idea where that would be?
Mr. Tabata: I am very happy and pleasantly surprised with
Engineering because when we walked in the door, Engineering was singled out as
being a problem area. We recently hired two young engineers last year, and we
hired them right out of school. We have the ramping up stage to get them fully
involved in employment, and coming out of school you do not know everything.
There is a lot of learning to do. So they are picking up, they are bright young
minds, and they are very electronic savvy, so they love the computers. The ePlan, it
is starting in Building, but it will also then evolve into the Engineering side. So I
see nothing but the brighter side of things right now and improvement is
forthcoming.
Ms. Nakamura: One thing that we might want to ... I just want to
throw out is maybe a customer satisfaction survey to see from the user point of view
what suggestions they may have.
Mr. Tabata: Okay.
Council Chair Furfaro: As long as it does not have a guarantee on it.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you.
Council Chair Furfaro: Councilman Kuali`i has some questions for you, but
ultimately we are glad to see the improvements, but we have to constantly make
improvements, get those permits out. Kuali`i, you have the floor.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Chair, aloha, Lyle. Yes, I would say
that taking the maximum ones out which, like the Chair said, skews it, it looks like
we are not doing too bad. From the date of application to issuance and then from
the days from approval to pick -up, I am not sure I understand all that terminology.
Application makes sense. Issuance, is it issued when they pick it up? Or is it...
Mr. Tabata: No, we call them and tell them your Building
Permit is ready, come and pick it up or send a representative, pay for your fees, and
you take your final drawings, and you are good to go, and we give them the Building
Permit. And so from that time when we call them, that is where on the other side,
the other block across is from when we approve and they come and pick up.
Mr. Kuali`i: But when you call them it is because it is already
approved.
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Mr. Kuali`i: So the date of issuance and the date of approval is
the same.
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
COUNCIL MEETING -92- April 11, 2012
Mr. Kuali`i: So now from approval to pick up, all of that is in
their ... the ball is in their court.
Mr. Tabata:
The applicant's court, yes.
Mr. Kuali`i: And I know that there is something about once you
pick it up, you have to begin construction within six months to a year or something.
Mr. Tabata: So some people delay picking up.
Mr. Kuali`i: And the permit if it just sits, it expires at some
point supposedly.
Mr. Tabata: Yes, but once they start the work...
Mr. Kuali`i: So all of that delay there, it is the builder's
responsibility, the owner - builder responsibility, and that is two months of an
additional delay. Okay, I think we are doing pretty good.
Council Chair Furfaro: Lyle, I want to thank you for the presentation. We
need to see if we have some people that want to give testimony. Thank you very
much for the report and I will not tell Wally about the $169,000 if you do not. Is
there anybody who would like to testify on this item? Come right up.
WADE LORD: For the record my name is Wade Lord. Thank you
very much for having me here today. And thank you, Lyle, for your good work. I
am pleasantly surprised to hear the improvements in the timing for delivering
permits to the customers. I wanted to come share a customer view with you folks. I
do a few permits a year through various activities that I have and it can range from
just zero up to five or six a year, but they are commercial in nature. And I am very
happy to see those numbers down in the five -month range. Before this there
was ... you did not know when your permits might come. It really was quite a ... a
little bit of an unknown on our side and it was frustrating because you could take
your permits in and take your plans in and you might not see them for seven or
eight or nine months. It could be a difficult challenge. And I know that the... my
impression of the Building Department has always been, and the various agencies,
that they are staffed by good people that are committed. I feel like obviously if we
look at these max numbers here, there is still room for improvement certainly and I
think that one suggestion I might have is that maybe Lyle and Larry could create
thresholds whereby if a permit is in one department for a certain amount of time
and it hits that threshold, then there needs to be an explanation to them as to why
it is still in that department. That might help move some of these along because
there are some that are up over two months, and I know that they do not have
control over the Health Department and I know that that typically is just one guy
that does the whole State. So you just sit in line while that guy is gone.
In the past there were a lot of times when if the Engineering... mechanical
guy was out on leave or sick or on vacation, permits did not get reviewed. At times
if there were medical reasons, it could extend for long periods of time, and that
backup never got put in place. So everybody would just wait until that guy got back
online. And so there would be this giant backlog and it obviously must be
frustrating for that person coming back because they have to look at a mountain of
work. And so I am really thrilled to hear that you have some contingency money
there for them that they can utilize to deal with those kind of issues that might
come up.
COUNCIL MEETING -93- April 11, 2012
I know that I do some projects in Honolulu as well, and that County has a
third -party reviewer program whereby you can pay a fee to a third -party reviewer
that has been identified by the County as somebody that they are more than happy
to work with. That reviewer, you can start working on your construction after that
third -party reviews, and that review is done very quickly. You are still obligated to
all of the conditions of the County's processes, and they still retain all of their rights
of review, but it does allow projects, especially commercial ones because I think you
all know that the faster you can turn around a permit, the faster that construction
can begin and the local people can go to work in the construction industry, which is
the sector that suffered the most in this downturn and is still suffering. There is
one large project going on and that is taking care of some of them, but many, many
of them are on the bench right now, and I think that anything that we can do to
move the process quicker would be beneficial on many levels for those families that
need the work, for the customer that has a goal and an objective in mind to get a
business open by a certain time, for the future employees of that business who are
going to receive salaries and pay and support and compensation, and as well as for
the... for lack of a better word, I guess the funding mechanisms for the County in
terms of real property taxes as those businesses get open. The sooner they get open,
the sooner the County is collecting fees on the improvements. So I think that it is in
everyone's interest to try to find a way to expedite that. I think that it might be
nice to have some comparisons to be able to have Public Works be able to
benchmark themselves against other municipalities, and I think that that would be
helpful for them to have sort of a target, so if you have a goal because you have
obviously made tremendous strides, but if you have a date certain in mind, like if
you want your goal to be instead of 150 days, you want it to be 50 days, right, you
can do certain things that they can work to improve towards realizing that goal. It
is my belief that with that funding that you have for them, they should be able to,
any time there is a shortfall, meet that need, and that is my hope that you will
continue the good work that Lyle and his group has started and to continue to make
improvements so that we can carve that number down. Five months is still a long
time to wait from the customer's standpoint. I go in, I pay a fee to get the plans
reviewed. There are very few ... I cannot think of very few services that you pay for
that are open -ended like that, where you are paying a lot of money to get something
reviewed, and you do not know when you are going to receive the full complement of
the services. So I know it is an important process and it is an important thing to do
to make sure that construction gets built safely, but...
Council Chair Furfaro: I just want to make sure you understand that the
Council cannot direct those departments to do that. The mechanisms that we put in
place ... there is another report that we put together several years ago that shows
the tax value. So your comment there is very much appreciated. The fact that we
put a pool of money aside that they do not have to come to us for a staffing position.
They can hire an 89 -day employee to help expedite. But I will share with you some
other things here as you look at how long a permit goes through the Health
Department and so forth. How many elevator inspectors do you think there are in
the neighbor islands in the State for hotels and commercial properties?
Mr. Lord: I am sure there is very few.
Council Chair Furfaro: There is one.
Mr. Lord: Yes, I was going to say that.
COUNCIL MEETING -94- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: I could go several years at my hotel and keep
reading with the Chief Engineer when was the last time we had a visit from the
Elevator Inspector? And that is why all the signs say now the permit is held
downstairs because you would be putting a bogus date in the elevator.
Mr. Lord: Right, and that is the way it is with the Health
Department. You have one guy, he is doing all the Form -1's in the whole State. So
if I have a building that has an air conditioning system, it has to go to him.
Council Chair Furfaro: And I am just saying that we need to recognize
what is in our control and those are the areas that Lyle and Larry are making some
progress on. We are providing a pool of money to hire some temporary people to
expedite things, but we agree with you that we just constantly have to make
improvements. But there are some joint snatches on items getting caught when
they cross over to Health, they cross over to the Elevator Department and so forth
that we have to be sensitive to.
Mr. Lord: I think Lyle's comment that they are going to go
digital is excellent. I remember when it was ... the plan sets went from one
department and then hand - carried over to the next department. It was a lot of time
and they could sit on desks. So I appreciate the effort that is being put into it. I
have a $10 million project coming up pretty soon and the economists say that every
dollar that goes into the economy circulates seven times. So we are talking about
$70 million of economic activity from one project.
Council Chair Furfaro: Well, we appreciate those comments and I am going
to open it for some questions because your time for testimony had passed the needle
a little bit. Do you have a copy of the worksheets?
Mr. Lord: I do.
Council Chair Furfaro: Good, I am glad you got one. And do we have
questions here for him? Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: It is so interesting, Wade, that you applied for
permits on two islands and that in Honolulu there is this third -party administrator.
At one point in our budget that was one of our goals. For you as a customer, does
that work well?
Mr. Lord: It does. It is different for every customer because
you may not, as a customer, want to expend the additional moneys for that
third -party reviewer. But I think from government's view it works very well
because they retain all of their review rights. And for those of us that it is very
important to get that capital placed and working for us, it works very well for us as
well. Now there are things that do come up. I did one project in Waikiki where
Hard Rock Cafe is located and after - the -fact in final inspection one of the City guys
saw something and we needed to deal with it. So it cost us maybe a $20,000 fix, but
when I look at the overall budget for the project and the timing to get it online and
then the time that I saved to start collecting rent from the tenant, it was a
no- brainer.
Ms. Yukimura: And your suggestion about benchmarks is really an
interesting one. I am aware that at DCCA, the Department of Commerce and
Consumer Affairs, when Robbie Alm was there a decade ago, he took on the
challenge from the business community and they reduced the business registration
COUNCIL MEETING -95- April 11, 2012
from 20 weeks, this was from five months, to 20 days. And then they went to a
3 -day premium. So if you were willing to pay more, you could get it in three days.
But...
Council Chair Furfaro: But I do not like that, people with money bump in
line all the time.
Ms. Yukimura: Is not that how the third -party administrator
works?
Mr. Lord: Basically yes. But for most people they do not
necessarily need the third party. If I have a $50 million project and every day goes
by costs me $3,000 in interest on a loan, then I am going to pay that $5,000 fee
because that is only one day of interest.
Ms. Yukimura: And actually the third -party administrator is a
different system so it is actually taking you out of line so that others can move
faster on the regular County route.
Council Chair Furfaro: Oh that is a nice way to look at it, but it always
does not work that way. I just love to make sure that Lyle can guarantee me that
the rest of the line is going to move swiftly because Lloyd got out of line. So I think
we have to focus on doing the best possible job we can and give him the money in
that revolving fund, but your comment is very well received. But we are straying
now a little bit from the agenda item. Do we have any more questions because we
still have seven more agenda pages to go through tonight? Questions?
Mr. Lord: Fortunately, I do not have to hang around for those
seven.
Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. Your comments were
greatly appreciated, and we are glad you had an opportunity to look at the material
to date.
Mr. Lord: Very good, thank you.
item? Council Chair Furfaro: Is there any other that would like to testify on this
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Ms. Nakamura moved to receive C 2012 -63 for the record, seconded by
Mr. Kuali`i, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -45 Communication (1/06/2012) from the Chief of Police, requesting
Council approval to expend $300,000.00 of Asset Forfeiture Funds for planning,
designing and procurement assistance for a permanent Kawaihau Police Station,
rather than the previously requested purchase of a modular building to be used as a
temporary police station in the Kawaihau District: Mr. Bynum moved to approve
C 2012 -45, seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -91 Communication (03/01/2012) from the Prosecuting Attorney,
requesting Council approval to apply and receive Technical Assistance from the
Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Vera Institute of Justice's national Cost -
Benefit Knowledge Bank for Criminal Justice, which will allow the OPA to find
r
COUNCIL MEETING
Im
April 11, 2012
innovative programs and develop procedures to ensure that the community is
served in the most cost efficient manner and in the best way possible:
Ms. Nakamura moved to receive C 2012 -91 for the record, seconded by
Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Furfaro: I see that Ian is here and he has some young
children at home. So Ian I am going to ask if we could jump to Bill 2424 because it
is only a couple days after Easter and we have to make sure those kids are getting
all the candy. Come right up.
There being no objections, Bill No. 2424, Draft 1, a Bill for Second Reading, was
taken out of order.
BILL FOR SECOND READING:
Bill No. 2424, Draft 1 - A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO ALLOW SOLAR
ENERGY FACILITIES IN THE AGRICULTURE DISTRICT: Mr. Chang moved for
adoption of Bill No. 2424, Draft 1 on second and final reading, and that it be
transmitted to the Mayor for his approval, seconded by Mr. Bynum.
Council Chair Furfaro: The rules are suspended. You wanted to give us
some input. To the other Councilmembers, be prepared for some questions. Go
ahead.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
IAN JUNG, Deputy County Attorney: Good evening, Council Chair,
Councilmembers, Deputy County Attorney Ian Jung for the record. I apologize I am
not dressed appropriately. I was just at the dentist and I wanted to take my tie off.
Mr. Bynum: You do not have to wear a tie here.
Mr. Jung: I am here to answer any questions and assist with
the process. We did have several meetings and I think Councilmember Yukimura
can...
Council Chair Furfaro: Do we have any questions for Ian? And do we then
realize that if you stumble on some responses it is because of the Novocain?
Mr. Jung: I told him to start drilling without Novocain
because...
Council Chair Furfaro: Brave guy.
Mr. Jung: But it was just a filing, so it was not too bad.
Council Chair Furfaro: Councilwoman.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, I have circulated an amendment. As you
recall, we amended the bill presented by the Planning Department. We amended it
by taking out "B lands" as a category of land where the right to put solar facilities
would be outright or permitted use. And then we were told by KIUC that the
amount of "B lands" that they would need given the limitations on the interface of
solar with the power grid and given that solar energy is not firm power, so that they
have to have backup power, all of this meant that they could only use up to
80 acres. So we were going to limit the "B lands" to 80 acres and allow them
COUNCIL MEETING -97- April 11, 2012
outright permitted use. That got to be complicated, and so what we are suggesting
here with the help of the County Attorney's Office and with Planning's involvement
is a redefinition of "solar energy facility" so that we are allowing these on "B lands,"
but by defining "solar energy facility," we are screening out iffy projects and small
projects and we are basically allowing the serious and substantial proposals, which
is another way of ensuring that it will not be more than 80 to 100 acres of "B lands."
Council Chair Furfaro: Councilmember Nakamura.
Ms. Nakamura: I recently found out that my husband's law firm is
doing legal work for KIUC, so I would like to recuse myself from this discussion
after seeing this amendment.
Council Chair Furfaro: Please make a note that Councilmember
Nakamura has recused herself from this discussion.
( Councilmember Nakamura was noted recused and left the meeting at 4:45 p.m.)
Council Chair Furfaro: I have no problem with what you are putting forth
here, Vice Chair. Is there any more discussion or directions of either the Vice Chair
and /or Mr. Jung?
Mr. Rapozo: I have one.
Council Chair Furfaro: Go right ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: Ian, what —and I guess I need some time to digest
this —but what is the difference now between this and the State statute?
Mr. Jung: Well, the State statute is the same. So the proposal
that was in Act 217 is now being applied to our use, uses allowed within the
Agricultural District.
Mr. Rapozo: Right.
Mr. Jung: But what we did was we looked at the definition of
"solar energy facility," which is our own County definition so it in no way conflicts
with the State law. In this case, we just clarified what exactly is a solar energy
facility and who can go about getting the outright permitted use on the Agricultural
District without a Use Permit. So if you look at the definition in Section 2 of Solar
Energy Facility, the new language is to qualify as a "solar energy facility," the use
and /or structure must be operated or managed by a registered public utility
pursuant to HRS Chapter 269 or the electricity generated is transmitted to a
registered public utility under a Power Purchase Agreement. And I think the
Power Purchase Agreement is what makes a distinction here to make sure it is a
big project that will produce a lot of electricity. The Planning Department looked at
the industry standards in looking at how major public utility companies qualify big
projects versus little projects, and it appears to be that 100 kilowatts of electricity is
what makes that big jump from a small project to a large project.
right? Mr. Rapozo: The registered public utility, we only have one,
Mr. Jung: Currently, we have... it depends. You look at the
definition of registered public utility and it includes everything from cell phone
companies to electric...
COUNCIL MEETING -98- April 11, 2012
Mr. Rapozo: Understood, but who is...
Mr. Jung: But currently we only have one electrical.
Mr. Rapozo: Correct, and that is what this basically says. You
basically have to transmit your power to KIUC.
Mr. Jung: Correct, but someone else could come in and
become a registered public utility and still qualify under this particular "solar
energy facility" definition. So it does not foreclose anybody else coming in I think if
that is your concern.
Mr. Rapozo: Well I do not know what the chances of another
public utility going to get PUC approval to move in on a cooperative territory. I just
do not see that happening. I mean that is farfetched, I think you would agree.
Mr. Jung: Yes, yes.
Mr. Rapozo: The other question is not for you, Ian, so, I will
just ... that is all I have.
Council Chair Furfaro: Any more questions of Ian? Thank you very much,
sir. Enjoy your evening.
Mr. Jung: Thank you, Councilmembers.
Council Chair Furfaro: Is there anyone else in the audience who wishes to
give testimony? I am not seeing anyone. I will call the meeting back to order.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Council Chair Furfaro: Members, Vice Chair has briefed us all on her
intended amendment. You have the floor.
Ms. Yukimura moved to amend Bill No. 2424, Draft 1, as shown in the Floor
Amendment attached hereto (Attachment No. 2), seconded by Mr. Bynum.
Ms. Yukimura: And then if there are any other questions?
Mr. Rapozo: I have a question.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, sure.
Mr. Rapozo: My question is prior to this amendment the Farm
Bureau had some concerns on several aspects, (1) obviously the use of ag land for
solar farming, and the other issue was the ease of putting a solar farm without a
permit because this would be an acceptable use or allowable use on Class B. So my
question is did the Farm Bureau have a chance to take a look at your new
amendment?
Ms. Yukimura: No, they have not. Peter did we get any input from
them?
COUNCIL MEETING -99- April 11, 2012
Council "Chair Furfaro: You have to go to the mike, Peter, if you are going
to give testimony to this Council body. Let the record show that the question was
posed to one of our legal analysts and he said that they were not shared with them.
Ms. Yukimura: If you would like to run it by the Farm Bureau, we
can. It was a race to try to get this wording. Actually we have been working since
the last meeting. But I will say this much, that these amendments limit the
amount of solar that can happen on lands.
Council Chair Furfaro: On B Lands.
Ms. Yukimura: Actually, on all lands, but the B and C lands,
something interesting that I found out and as we did work on this amendment is B
and C lands are the desirable lands for solar because they are are flatter. The D, E
lands have more slope and just like housing competes for ag land because it is
easier to develop flat land, so is flat land really valuable to farmers because erosion
runoff, just the farming operations are easier on flat land. So the pressure is on
these lands actually. But they are already limited by the State Law, which you will
see at the bottom of the amendment amending Section 8 -7.2, bottom of the
amendment, the second page. You will see that State law limits any facility to no
more than 10% of the acreage or 20 acres of the land, whichever is less. So that is
also a limitation.
Council Chair Furfaro: So the question here is are there other members
that would like to see this piece circulated to the Farm Bureau or are we okay with
the controls as described by Vice Chair Yukimura? Mr. Bynum.
Ms. Yukimura: I will never have an objection to letting community
members look at anything we propose. However, we are in a County that still
allows de facto ag, residential subdivision on ag land. I think it is very clear that
the State had put those limits and that this amendment is consistent with that, and
so I am actually fine with passing this amendment and the bill today. But if there
is a desire to circulate it to the Farm Bureau and there is no time constraints, I do
not object to that either. Any more comments? If there are no more comments, do
we want to do a vote on this piece? If not, speak up now. Go ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: If there is no time issue, and I do not believe there
is, I do not see a problem or an issue with allowing the Farm Bureau to review the
additional restrictions, and that would be my choice.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: I am fine with that. Might I suggest we pass the
amendment and then defer the bill?
Council Chair Furfaro: Okay, so the strategy now is let us vote on the
amendment and then defer the bill as amended, and have it go by the Farm Bureau.
The motion to amend Bill No. 2424, Draft 1, as shown in the Floor
Amendment attached hereto (Attachment No. 2) was then put, and
unanimously carried.
Mr. Chang moved to defer Bill No. 2424, Draft 1, as amended herein to
Bill No. 2424, Draft 2, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
COUNCIL MEETING _100- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: Staff, please make a special note to have this
circulated to the Farm Bureau. Now we have 37 minutes before dinnertime. Let us
see what we can do here. We are obviously not going to the DOT hearing at
5 o'clock.
Ms. Yukimura: I was thinking we might take dinner now and have
more time there, but...
Council Chair Furfaro: I have a 7:30 p.m. appointment.
Ms. Yukimura: Then let us proceed.
Council Chair Furfaro: Let us move forward.
C 2012 -96 Communication (03/13/2012) from the Anti -Drug Coordinator,
requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, and expend funds from the State
of Hawaii Department of Human Services, Office of Youth Services Title V
Incentive Grant in the amount of $128,198.00, which will be used for a
mentoring /advocacy program to prevent youth at risk of becoming delinquent and
from entering the juvenile justice system: Mr. Bynum moved to approve C 2012 -96,
seconded by Mr. Rapozo.
Council Chair Furfaro: Is there anyone that wants to hear from our
Anti -Drug Coordinator? If not I am going to call for the vote.
Mr. Kuali`i: Chair, I want to ask her a question.
Council Chair Furfaro: We will suspend the rules and come right up.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
THERESA KOKI, Anti -Drug Coordinator: Good evening, Chair Furfaro, Vice
Chair Yukimura, and Councilmembers. Theresa Koki for the record.
Council Chair Furfaro: You have the floor, sir.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a self - serving
personal question because I cannot tell by this, I have not looked at all the detail. Is
this grant, does any part of this grant go to the YWCA for any of our youth
prevention services there?
Ms. Koki: Actually, if I may explain a little bit about this
grant, it is from the Office of Juvenile Justice to prevent delinquency here. So we
will be entering into a contract and the YWCA would be able to apply via the
procurement process for the moneys to have this mentoring and advocacy program
for youth that are suspended from middle and high school for 30 to 90 days.
Mr. Kuali`i:
Okay, thank you.
( Councilmember Nakamura was noted present at 5:56 p.m.)
Council Chair Furfaro: Any further discussion before I call for the vote?
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
COUNCIL MEETING _101- April 11, 2012
The motion to approve C 2012 -96 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Furfaro: The next item I want it to be read, but the job
posting did go up. Some of you may have had the copies and I shared that with the
Prosecutor's Office earlier today. So this motion should be to receive. Read the
item please.
C 2012 -101 Communication (03/29/2012) from the Prosecuting Attorney,
requesting authorization to expend funds up to $10,000.00 to retain special counsel
to represent the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney before the Civil Service
Commission, relating to the classification of position no. 2801 and related matters:
Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -101 for the record, seconded by Mr. Chang.
Council Chair Furfaro: Any discussion? Everybody got a copy of the job
that was posted?
Mr. Rapozo: I had one. I do not know ... it was on my table here.
It may have been from you, Mr. Chair.
Council Chair Furfaro: No, no, no, I gave mine to Carvalho.
Mr. Rapozo: I just want to say that I am glad a resolution was
reached, but it was unnecessary the path that we took. The message should be sent
loud and clear, let us just do our jobs properly, and let us just get it done because
this was, I think, completely uncalled for, and only after a threat of hiring outside
counsel was action taken, and that should not be the way this County does
business. So that is all and I am very happy to make that motion.
Council Chair Furfaro: And as a follow up to yesterday's testimony from
the people in the accounting realm, again, a message went over. They need to
expedite requests.
The motion to receive C 2012 -101 for the record was then put, and
unanimously carried.
C 2012 -109 Communication (03/08/2012) from the Chief of Police, requesting
Council approval to accept and utilize a 40 -foot container that was forfeited through
the Asset Forfeiture Program, to store equipment for the Vice /Narcotics Unit:
Mr. Rapozo moved to approve C 2012 -109, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i, and
unanimously carried.
C 2012 -110 Communication (03/14/2012) from the Executive on Aging,
requesting Council approval to receive and expend funds in the amount of
$62,847.00 for year one (April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013) of a three -year grant
(April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2015) awarded by the Corporation for National and
Community Service to assist the Kauai Retired and Senior Volunteer Program in
carrying out a national service program as authorized by the Domestic Volunteer
Service Act of 1973, as amended (42 U.S.C., Chapter 22): Mr. Chang moved to
approve C 2012 -110, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -111 Communication (03/14/2012) from the Director of Planning,
requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, indemnify, and expend grant
funds, in an amount not to exceed $200,000.00 for a period of up to two years, from
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Storms
COUNCIL MEETING -102- April 11, 2012
Program to support a General Plan Technical Study relating to research, creation,
and implementation of policies relating to coastal hazards: Mr. Chang moved to
approve C 2012 -111, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Council Chair Furfaro: Any discussion? Go right ahead, you have the floor.
Ms. Yukimura: I just want to note that this is a very great
initiative on the part of Planning to get moneys for our General Plan technical
studies and to do it through grants rather than through County money. So thank
you very much.
Council Chair Furfaro: Now, I thank you for taking that time for the
recognition. Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: This is cool.
Council Chair Furfaro: Is that the testimony?
Mr. Bynum: That is it.
The motion to approve C 2012 -111 was then put, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -112 Communication (03/21/2012) from the Executive on
Transportation, requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, indemnify, and
expend a Fiscal Year 2012 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5309 State
of Good Repair Grant in the amount of $1,340,000.00, for bus replacement and
installation of GPS units in the Transportation Agency fleet: Mr. Kuali`i moved to
approve C 2012 -112, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Furfaro: Another outstanding process here, outstanding.
C 2012 -113 Communication (03/21/2012) from the Executive on
Transportation, requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, indemnify, and
expend a Fiscal Year 2012 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5309 "Bus
Livability Program" Grant in the amount of $1,000,000.00, to provide passenger
shelters and improvements for public transit bus stops: Mr. Kuali`i moved to
approve C 2012 -113, seconded by Ms. Yukimura.
Council Chair Furfaro: Another outstanding effort on the Transportation
Department. Mr. Rapozo, you wanted (inaudible).
Mr. Rapozo: Yes, I am going to support it, but I just ... we need to
get more information when these requests come over for these types of funds. One
last week or a couple of weeks ago we had the request for the Drug Committee and
there were some questions because it was too broad. This one it says absolutely
nothing except a million dollars to provide passenger shelters and improvements.
So we need to get more information, unless I am missing something and I only have
this coversheet. It is a good thing, I mean we all support the bus, but I think we
need to treat all the departments equally, and if we require information of the Drug
Office, I think we should require information from Transportation as well.
Council Chair Furfaro: I agree with you, but I do recall that we did have
some information about the number of bus stops that would be addressed with this
grant. We have that somewhere, but your point is well taken.
COUNCIL MEETING -103- April 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: I am sure we can ask when they come before us
during budget, which will be soon.
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes.
The motion to approve C 2012 -113 was then put, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -114 Communication (04/05/2012) from Councilmember Bynum,
requesting Council approval to publicly release the January 24, 2012 County
Attorney opinion regarding transient vacation rentals with homeowner's
exemptions: Mr. Rapozo moved to approve C 2012 -114, seconded by Mr. Chang.
Council Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum, you have the floor.
Mr. Bynum: I am very much appreciative that we are going o
release this opinion. I have said before that our current County Attorney and this
Council is moving and has set up a procedure to release County Attorney opinions
as to law. This one is regarding the fact that some of us heard that people who are
running transient vacation rentals and in a few instances also have homeowners
exemptions, this opinion says that under our current definitions and criteria that is
okay under certain circumstances, and as a result of this opinion, I think
Councilmember Furfaro and I are working on a bill to say maybe it is not okay. But
it is great that we are releasing these documents. So anybody in the public wants to
get this it is available at Council Services. Thank you very much.
Council Chair Furfaro: Any further testimony? That is a confirmation. I
am supporting this, but based on the fact that I want to say giving home exemptions
to people who do transient vacations rentals is unacceptable, and I will be jointly
introducing that with Mr. Bynum.
The motion to approve C 2012 -113 was then put, and unanimously carried.
LEGAL DOCUMENTS:
C 2012 -115 Communication (03/21/2012) from the Civil Defense Manager,
recommending approval to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Use
Permit with the Hawaii State Department of Defense, for designated areas in the
Kapa`a Armory at 4670 Kahau Road, Kapa`a, Hawaii 96746, to be used as a Police
Sub - station. The MOA is for a term of four (4) years, beginning June 1, 2012
through March 31, 2016, and the Use Permit is for a term of one (1) year, beginning
June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2013.
a) Memorandum of Agreement Between the Department of Defense and the
County of Kauai (for the use of the Kapa`a Armory)
b) Use Permit 12 -004
Mr. Chang moved to approve C 2012 -115, seconded by Mr. Rapozo, and
unanimously carried.
C 2012 -116 Communication (03/23/2012) from the Director of Finance and
the Information Technology Manager, recommending approval of the Internet
Service Renewal Contract for TW Telecom, including the indemnification language
that is incorporated into the Standard Terms and Conditions.
• Contract No. 153451, TW Telecom Service Order
COUNCILMEETING -104- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: I would like to make an announcement that this
item should be rescheduled in two weeks. Brandon had appointments that he had
to get to at 3 o'clock today and we just could not get to him if you needed him. On
the other hand, if you want to move on an approval without having him here to
testify that is your choice.
Mr. Chang moved to approve C 2012 -116, seconded Mr. Rapozo.
Council Chair Furfaro: Is there any further discussion.
Mr. Rapozo: Mr. Chair?
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Mr. Rapozo: Only that he described it in his budget presentation
so I am satisfied with his explanation, so I am prepared to vote.
Council Chair Furfaro: Very good. He was available only up until 3 o'clock
today and I wanted to share that with you folks.
The motion to approve C 2012 -116 was then put, and unanimously carried.
CLAIMS:
C 2012 -117 Communication (03/20/2012) from the Deputy County Clerk,
transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kauai by Eric B. Alfonso for
damage to his vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai:
Mr. Rapozo moved to refer C 2012 -117 to the County Attorney's Office for
disposition and /or report back to the Council, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried.
C 2012 -118 Communication (03/20/2012) from the County Clerk,
transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kauai by Alan S. Murabayashi for
damage to his vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai:
Mr. Rapozo moved to refer C 2012 -118 to the County Attorney's Office for
disposition and /or report back to the Council, seconded by Mr. Chang, and
unanimously carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Safety & Environmental Services Committee
A report (No. CR -PSE 2012 -02) submitted by the Public Safety &
Environmental Services Committee, recommending that the following be approved:
"C 2012 -96 Communication (03/13/2012) from the Anti -Drug
Coordinator, requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, and expend
funds from the State of Hawaii Department of Human Services, Office of
Youth Services Title V Incentive Grant in the amount of $128,198.00, which
will be used for a mentoring /advocacy program to prevent youth at risk of
becoming delinquent and from entering the juvenile justice system,"
Mr. Bynum moved for approval of the report, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i, and
unanimously carried.
COUNCIL MEETING -105- April 11, 2012
Finance /Parks & Recreation /Public Works Program Committee
A report (No. CR -FPP 2012 -04) submitted by the Finance /Parks &
Recreation /Public Works Program Committee, recommending that the following be
approved as amended on second and final reading (note: This report was deferred at
the March 28, 2012 Council Meeting.):
"Bill No. 2425 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND
CHAPTER 5A OF THE KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED,
RELATING TO HOME EXEMPTIONS,"
Mr. Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried. (See March 28, 2012 Council Meeting Agenda for
Bill No. 2425, Draft 1.)
A report (No. CR -FPP 2012 -05) submitted by the Finance /Parks &
Recreation /Public Works Program Committee, recommending that the following be
approved:
"C 2012 -45 Communication (1/06/2012) from the Chief of Police,
requesting Council approval to expend $300,000.00 of Asset Forfeiture Funds
for planning, designing and procurement assistance for a permanent
Kawaihau Police Station, rather than the previously requested purchase of a
modular building to be used as a temporary police station in the Kawaihau
District,"
Mr. Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried.
A report (No. CR -FPP 2012 -06) submitted by the Finance /Parks &
Recreation /Public Works Program Committee, recommending that the following be
received for the record:
"FPP 2012 -03 Communication (03/12/2012) from Committee Chair
Bynum, requesting the Administration's presence to provide the Committee
with information on the County's Capital Improvements Projects (CIP),
including the following:
• The amount of funding that was encumbered and the amount
actually spent for each project in the CIP budget going back five (5) years.
• The total overall CIP amount expended in each year for the last ten
years from 1) planning, permitting, etc.; 2) construction; and 3) total.
• How many projects the Administration feels that it can feasibly
award and start each year to begin expending funds.
• The Administration's needs in order to get more projects started, i.e.,
more staffing, hiring of consultants to serve as project managers, etc.,"
Mr. Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried.
Committee of the Whole
A report (No. CR -COW 2012 -08) was submitted by the Committee of the
Whole, recommending that the following be referred to the April 25, 2012 Council
Meeting:
COUNCIL MEETING -106- April 11, 2012
"C 2012 -90 Communication (03/01/2012) from the Council Chair,
requesting the presence of the County Engineer and the Chief of Buildings to
provide an update on the repairs and maintenance of the Kilauea Gym as it
relates to the leaking roof, floor damage, and corrective action that has been
done to address the roof and floor,"
Mr. Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried.
A report (No. CR -COW 2012 -09) was submitted by the Committee of the
Whole, recommending that the following be received for the record:
"C 2012 -87 Communication (03/08/2012) from the Director of
Personnel Services, transmitting for Council information, the quarterly
reports (September 30, 2011 — December 31, 2011) relative to vacancies, new
hires, transfers, reallocations, and promotions, pursuant to Section 19 of
Ordinance No. B- 2011 - 732,"
Mr. Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried.
A report (No. CR -COW 2012 -10) was submitted by the Committee of the
Whole, recommending that the following be referred to the Full Council,
"C 2012 -74 Communication (03/01/2012) from the Chairperson,
Salary Commission, transmitting the Salary Commission's Resolution
No. 2012 -1, Resolution Amending Resolution No. 2011 -1 Relating To The
Salaries Of Certain Officers And Employees Of The County of Kaua`i,"
Mr. Kuah'i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried.
A report (No. CR -COW 2012 -11) was submitted by the Committee of the
Whole, recommending that the following be deferred to a Special Committee of the
Whole Meeting on April 11, 2012:
"C 2012 -91 Communication (03/01/2012) from the Prosecuting
Attorney, requesting Council approval to apply and receive Technical
Assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Vera Institute of
Justice's national Cost - Benefit Knowledge Bank for Criminal Justice, which
will allow the OPA to find innovative programs and develop procedures to
ensure that the community is served in the most cost efficient manner and in
the best way possible,"
Mr. Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
unanimously carried.
RESOLUTIONS:
Resolution No. 2012 -22, RESOLUTION PROPOSING A CHARTER
AMENDMENT RELATING TO DEFINITIONS OF "SHALL," "MUST," AND
"MAY": Mr. Rapozo moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2012 -22, seconded by
Mr. Kuali`i.
Council Chair Furfaro: Discussion?
COUNCIL MEETING -107- April 11, 2012
Mr. Rapozo: This is the final reading, correct?
Mr. Kuali`i: For the resolution.
Mr. Rapozo: Right, we had two readings. This is the second
reading. So this is the second and final reading. So if it passes today, it gets moved
for the ballot, just so everybody understands.
Council Chair Furfaro: Before anyone goes further here, I had written to
the County Attorney for some specific verbiage on this so that it could be
incorporated in the resolution. They called back with some comments. I said that is
not what I asked for. I wanted some written comments from the County Attorney.
So this is probably something I would like to defer. Yes, go ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: Before we take that motion, when is the absolute
deadline to have the second reading of a resolution for a Charter Amendment?
Council Chair Furfaro: June 1. It has to be off our desk and gone.
Mr. Rapozo: And once the resolution is passed, let us say
June 1, what happens next? Who drafts the language for the ballot question? Who
does that?
PETER MORIMOTO, Council Services Legal Analyst: County Attorney in
conjunction with our office.
Mr. Rapozo: We have up to June 1 to pass any measure as long
as we get it ... what is June 1 anyway?
Council Chair Furfaro: Peter, I am going to insist that you take the mike,
please. It is kind of the end of a long day. I do not want to be repeating what you
have to say because what you share with us is always great information.
Mr. Rapozo: June 1 is a Friday, so for us actually, Wednesday,
May 30 would be the last opportunity to pass a second reading resolution for a
Charter Amendment.
Council Chair Furfaro: That is right.
Mr. Rapozo: Okay.
Council Chair Furfaro: Peter ducked out, huh? You are lucky Mr. Rapozo
has his calendar in hand too.
Mr. Rapozo: I just want to make sure we do not fall short
because I do not have a problem to defer it because we do have some time.
Council Chair Furfaro: I am asking for the deferral as I am going to be
talking to the County Attorney's Office this week.
Ms. Nakamura moved to defer Resolution No. 2012 -22, seconded by
Mr. Kuali`i, and unanimously carried.
COUNCIL MEETING -108- April 11, 2012
Resolution No. 2012 -23, RESOLUTION PROPOSING A CHARTER
AMENDMENT RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF
THE COUNCIL ATTORNEY: Mr. Rapozo moved for adoption of Resolution
No. 2012 -23, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Council Chair Furfaro: Same.
Mr. Rapozo: Same problem? A request for comments from them
as well?
Council Chair Furfaro: Requested verbiage from them.
Mr. Rapozo: Well, again, that just leads me to my point that
that is why we need our own attorney.
Council Chair Furfaro: I knew you were going to say that. Why did I not
know that?
Mr. Rapozo: I think we laugh and we chuckle and we joke, but if
you look at it, and I will say it again, we have had requests for special counsel from
other agencies, other commissions. That has never occurred before. I think there is
a problem. I do not know how else to fix it for us on the County Council other than
to create our own Office of the Council Attorney.
Council Chair Furfaro: So it is the same particular problem and the same
calendar applies.
Mr. Rapozo: Right.
Council Chair Furfaro: A deferral at giving them one more chance is the
minimum courtesy, I think, we can extend to them.
Mr. Rapozo: Like I said, I do not have a problem. It is kind of
uncomfortable asking the attorney that you are trying to replace to provide you with
the input for your resolution, but I am not going to sit here and ask for Special
Counsel to do a Charter Amendment Resolution because I think that would be a
waste of money, but I just would ask all of you, my colleagues, to seriously consider
this resolution because unless you can come up with a better resolution, a better
solution, we are not getting served the way we deserve to be served as
Councilmembers, and I will end it with that. I have no problem with a deferral.
Council Chair Furfaro: So I am looking for a deferral here.
Mr. Chang moved to defer Resolution No. 2012 -23, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Council Chair Furfaro:
Mr. Bynum:
There was more testimony?
Just a couple of questions.
Mr. Chang withdrew his motion to defer Resolution No. 2012 -23, and
Mr. Kuali`i withdrew his second.
Mr. Bynum: There is a County Attorney opinion on the last one.
Is there a County Attorney opinion on this one?
COUNCIL MEETING -109- April 11, 2012
Council Chair Furfaro: You cannot even get written comments from them
to have the discussion. That is my problem.
Mr. Bynum: Questions went over and we have responses from
them. There may be other issues, right?
Council Chair Furfaro: There are that maybe you are...
Mr. Bynum: So I am in support of a deferral because I have not
completed all of the understanding I need for either of these two.
Mr. Rapozo: There are opinions? Maybe I should see it first.
( ?): Exactly.
Mr. Rapozo: Was that a secret?
Ms. Yukimura: I think you saw it? No, you saw it?
Mr. Rapozo: Really? Maybe some of you did. I do not have it. I
wish I did.
Ms. Yukimura: When it first came up, February 29, 2012 is the
date of the opinion, and I think we even had an executive session.
Mr. Rapozo: An executive session on this?
Ms. Yukimura: I believe so.
Mr. Rapozo: I do not know. I must have been in space because I
do not remember that. I really do not.
Mr. Chang: You might have been off island.
Council Chair Furfaro: Let us pass it around right now and move on the
deferral.
Mr. Chang: I did not see it.
Mr. Rapozo: Maybe it was a Special Council Meeting.
Mr. Bynum: Mr. Chair?
Council Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Mr. Bynum: Just for the record on the resolution we deferred a
few minutes ago, there was a response on February 29, 2012 and on this resolution
there was a response on March 5, 2012. Questions were asked, we did get written
opinions back. But I am in the same boat as others that I have not fully digested all
of this information at this point because these are significant resolutions. They
place something on the ballot. I am in support of a deferral.
Council Chair Furfaro: Both of these are addressed to me. Some of you
that had seen them before was not in an executive session, I had it circulated by our
legal analyst. That is how you saw it. So you have them now and I would like to
get a deferral because I had other questions.
COUNCIL MEETING _110- April 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum moved to defer Resolution No. 2012 -23, seconded by Mr. Chang,
and unanimously carried.
BILL FOR first READING:
Bill No. 2434 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 12
OF THE KAUAI COUNTY CODE - 1987, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "BUILDING
CODE ": Mr. Chang moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2434), that it be
ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for May 9, 2012, and
that it thereafter be referred to the Finance /Parks & Recreation /Public Works
Programs Committee, seconded by Mr. Rapozo, and carried by the following vote:
FOR PASSAGE: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo, TOTAL — 7,
Yukimura, Furfaro
AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
ES -534 Pursuant to HRS sections 92 -4, 92- 5(a)(4), and section 3.07(e) of
the Kaua'i County Charter, the Office of the County Attorney, at the request of
Council, requests an executive session with the Council to provide the Council with
a briefing on the retention of special counsel to represent the Office of the
Prosecuting Attorney before the Civil Service Commission, relating to the
classification of an employee and related matters. 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.
ES -537 Pursuant to HRS section 92 -5(a) (2), (4) and (6), and Kaua'i
County Charter section 3.07(e), the purpose of this executive session is to provide
council with a briefing on the Prosecuting Attorney's request for approval to apply
and receive technical assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Vera
Institute of Justice's national Cost - Benefit Knowledge Bank for Criminal Justice
and related matters. This 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.
Mr. Rapozo moved to receive ES -534 and ES -537 for the record, seconded by
Mr. Bynum, and unanimously carried.
ADJOURNMENT.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:18 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
RICKY WATANABE
/wa County Clerk
ATTACHMENT NO. 1
(April 11, 2012)
FLOOR AMENDMENT
Salary Commission Resolution No. 2012 -01
INTRODUCED BY: MEL RAPOZO
Amend Salary Commission Resolution No. 2012 -01 in its entirety by rejecting the
bracketed material to read as follows:
[WHEREAS, the Salary Commission finds that County Council adopted and
the Mayor approved, Ordinance No. 907 that added the Boards and Commissions
Administrator to the list of officers and employees included in Section 3 -2.1 of the
Kauai County Code, 1987, as amended; and
WHEREAS, the Salary Commission was informed by the Mayor via a letter
dated July 15, 2011 that the County of Kauai has agreed to a supplemental
agreement with the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA), which
calls for a zero percent (0 %) increase for all of its HGEA employees and has not
budgeted for any salary increases for County employees in fiscal year 2012; and
WHEREAS, to remain consistent with the supplemental agreement and the
2012 budget, the Mayor has requested that the Salary Commission take measures
to insure that the proposed increase for the Mayor be deferred until such time as
economic and budgetary conditions improve; and]
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 29.03 of the Kauai County Charter, the
Salary Commission's findings shall be adopted by resolution by the Commission and
the resolution shall take effect without the Mayor's and Council's concurrence sixty
(60) days after its adoption unless rejected by a vote of not less than five (5)
members of the council; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SALARY COMMISSION, OF THE COUNTY OF
KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, that the provisions related to the "Salaries of
Certain Officers" of the County of Kauai, be established as follows:
SECTION 1. Pursuant to Section 29.03 of the Charter of the
County of Kauai, the Salary Commission hereby resolves to amend Resolution No.
2010 -1 and propose the changes described in this resolution to the Kauai County
Council as follows:
Article 1 Salaries of Certain Administrative Officers and Employees.
(a) Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to establish the salaries of
certain administrative officers and employees in accordance with the principles of
adequate compensation for work performed, and preservation of a sensible
relationship with the salaries of other county employees.
(b) Effective as of the dates stated below and subject to the performance
review requirements of subsection (d), the annual salaries, payable semi- monthly, of
certain administrative officers and employees shall be as follows:
Position
Mayor
[Administrative Assistant]
Managing? Director
County Engineer
Deputy County Engineer
Director of Finance
Deputy Director of Finance
County Attorney
First Deputy County Attorney
Deputy County Attorney U p
Chief of Police
Deputy Chief of Police
Planning Director
Deputy Planning Director
Director of Personnel
Manager and Chief Engineer,
Department of Water
Deputy Manager - Engineer,
Department of Water
Fire Chief
Deputy Fire Chief
Director of Economic Development
Director of Liquor Control
Director of Parks
Deputy Director of Parks
Director of Housing
Boards and Commissions Administrato
ATTACHMENT NO. 1
Effective Dates
7/1/07 1/1/08 12/1/08 [07/01/131
07/01/11
$100,100 $107,000 $114,490 $122,504
$ 96,250
$102,988
$ 93,750
$100,313
$ 86,250
$ 92,288
$ 93,750
$100,313
$ 86,250
$ 92,288
$ 93,750
$100,313
$ 86,250
$ 92,288
to $82,500
Up to $88,275
$ 93,750
$100,313
$ 86,250
$ 92,288
$ 93,750
$100,313
$ 86,250
$ 92,288
$ 90,000
$ 96,300
$ 93,750 $100,313
$ 86,250
$ 92,288
$ 93,750
$100,313
$86,250
$ 92,288
$ 90,000
$ 96,300
$ 90,000
$ 96,300
$ 93,750
$100,313
$ 86,250
$ 92,288
$ 90,000
$ 96,300
$110,197
$117,911
$107,335
$114,848
$ 98,748
$105,660
$107,335
$114,848
$ 98,748
$105,660
$107,335
$114,848
$ 98,748
$105,660
Up to $94,454
Up to $101,066
$107,335
$114,848
$ 98,748
$105,660
$107,335
$114,848
$ 98,748
$105,660
$103,041
$110,254
$107,335 $114,848
$ 98,748
$105,660
$107,335
$114,848
$98,748
$105,660
$103,041
$110,254
$103,041
$110,254
$107,335
$114,848
$ 98,748
$105,660
$103,041
$110,254
$103,041
$110,254
2
ATTACHMENT NO. 1
(c) Administrative officer and employee [efJ salaries shall not exceed the
maximum salary provided for in this Article at the time of employment. However,
the respective appointing authority may set the salary of any new or existing non-
elected appointee at a figure lower than the figure established for the position.
(d) Requirements for salary increase. The salary increase for any non-
elected officer or employee occupying and continuing in a position listed in this
resolution is contingent on the Director of Personnel's receipt of the following:
(1) A memo from the officer's or employee's appointing authority at
least thirty (30) days prior to the increase certifying that appointee's
performance has been evaluated pursuant to procedures established by
the Director of Personnel; and
(2) A copy of the officer's or employee's completed performance
evaluation evidencing that the appointee has met or exceeded job
requirements (for example, has achieved a rating of three points or
higher in a five point scale) for the appraisal period.
(3) Based on the evaluation results, the appointing authority's
recommendation on whether a proposed increase should be granted.
The appointing authority may recommend an increase for an officer or
employee occupying a position at a figure below the proposed salary
increase provided for in this resolution.
Provided however, the county attorney's performance shall be conducted through an
equally weighted evaluation that shall be jointly administered by the mayor and the
council chairperson in accordance with paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) above.
The Director of Personnel shall provide the Salary Commission with a list of the
names and positions of all non - elected officers and employees covered under this
resolution, indicate whether or not they have satisfactorily met the performance
evaluation criteria, and include the recommended salary increase, if any.
(e) Performance evaluations. The Director of Personnel shall prepare, for
approval by the Mayor, written performance evaluation procedures and
methodologies and coordinate the performance evaluations process for all non-
elected officers or employees listed in this resolution.
The Director of Personnel shall provide a copy of the performance evaluation
procedures and methodologies, including any revisions thereto, to the Salary
Commission.
(f) Officers or employees listed in this resolution may receive a portion of
their salary through the County's payment of health fund premium benefits over
and above the amount the County normally contributes toward those officers'
benefits. Amounts paid by the County which are over and above the County's
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ATTACHMENT NO. 1
normal health fund premium contributions shall be deducted from the affected
officer's or employee's salary.
Article 2 Salaries of the Prosecuting Attorney and Deputies.
(a) Effective as of the dates stated below and subject to the provisions and
performance review requirements provided for in Article 1, subsection (d), (e) and (f)
above, the annual salaries, payable semi - monthly, of the Prosecuting Attorney and
Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys shall be as follows:
Position
Prosecuting Attorney
First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
7/1107 1/1/08
$ 93,750 $100,313
$ 86,250 $ 92,288
12/1/08 12/01/09
(12 o'clock meridian)
$107,335 $114,848
$ 98,748 $105,660
Up to $82,500 Up to $88,275 Up to $94,454 Up to $101,066
(b) The salaries of the Prosecuting Attorney and any Deputy Prosecuting
Attorney shall not exceed the maximum salary provided for in this Article at the
time of employment. However, the Prosecuting Attorney may set the salary of any
new or existing deputy at a figure lower than the figure established for the position.
Article 3 Salaries of the County Council and Council Appointees.
(a) Effective at twelve o'clock meridian on December 1, 2008, the annual
salaries, payable semi - monthly, of the Kauai County Council shall be as follows:
Position
Council Chair $59,699
Councilmember $53,066
(b) Effective on December 1, 2009, the annual salaries, payable semi-
monthly, of the Kauai County Council shall be as follows:
Position
Council Chair $63,879
Councilmember $56,781
(c) Effective as of the dates stated below and subject to the provisions and
performance review requirements provided for in Article 1, subsection (d), (e) and (f)
above, the annual salaries, payable semi - monthly, of the County Clerk, Deputy
County Clerk and County Auditor shall be as follows:
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ATTACHMENT NO. 1
Position 7/1/07 1/1/08 12/1/08 12/01/09
(12 o'clock meridian)
County Clerk $ 93,750 $100,313 $107,335 $114,848
Deputy County Clerk $ 86,250 $ 92,288 $98,748 $105,660
County Auditor $107,335 $114,848
(d) Salaries of the Council Chair, Councilmembers, and employees shall
not exceed the maximum salary provided for in this Article at the time of
employment. However, the respective appointing authority may set the salary of
any new or existing non - elected appointee at a figure lower than the figure
established for the position.
[SECTION 2. The Salary Commission finds that current salaries
of the Prosecuting Attorney, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Deputy
Prosecuting Attorney, County Clerk, Deputy County Clerk, and County Auditor are
higher than their administrative counterparts listed under Article 1 of this
Resolution. Therefore, the maximum salaries of the Prosecuting Attorney, First
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, County Clerk, Deputy
County Clerk, and County Auditor set by the Salary Commission that took effect on
12/01/09 shall remain frozen on 07/01/13 or until such time that the salary levels
paid to comparable administrative officers and employees listed under Article 1
have caught up.]
SECTION [3.12. Material to be deleted is bracketed and lined out. New
material to be added is underscored. In future reprints of this resolution, the
bracketed material and underscoring may be deleted.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, if any portion or portions of this resolution
are deemed invalid or rejected by a vote of five (5) or more councilmembers, the
other provisions of this resolution shall not be affected thereby. If the application of
this resolution or any of its provisions to any person or circumstances is held
invalid, the application of this resolution and its provisions to other persons or
circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the County Clerk shall transmit to the Salary
Commission, Mayor, Finance Director and Personnel Director a final approved copy
of the resolution and note any amendments thereto within thirty (30) day after the
effective date of this resolution.
(Material to be deleted is bracketed. New material is underscored.)
CSOFFICE FILES /AMENDMENTS /2010- 2012/4- 11- 2012/Salary Commission ResoV3/PM_ds
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ATTACHMENT NO. 2
April 11, 2012
FLOOR AMENDMENT
Bill No 2424, Draft 1, Relating Solar Energy Facilities in the Agriculture District
INTRODUCED BY: JoAnn Yukimura
1. Amend Bill No. 2424, Draft 1, by amending Section 1 to read as follows:
"SECTION 1. Findings and purpose. The purpose of this Ordinance is to
promote the effective and efficient use of solar energy facilities while protecting the
agricultural value of our best agricultural lands as mandated in the Hawaii State
Constitution. The Council finds the following:
(a) The development of renewable energy on Kauai and Niihau is crucial
to the energy security and energy independence of the County and the State.
Increased energy efficiency and use of renewable energy resources will achieve
broad societal benefits including resistance to increases in oil prices, environmental
sustainability, economic development, and job creation.
(b) The County's dependence on petroleum makes the County extremely
vulnerable to supply disruption, international market dysfunction, and many other
factors beyond the control of the County. Continued consumption of conventional
petroleum fuel and price volatility can negatively impact the viability of
agricultural operations.
(c) Allowing renewable energy facilities within the Agriculture District
furthers and is consistent with the purposes, standards, and criteria for uses within
agricultural lands. Renewable energy facilities increase the County's self
sufficiency and agricultural sustainability.
(d) The purpose of this Ordinance is to allow, with certain limitations,
areas within the Agriculture District where solar energy facilities may be
constructed and operated.
(e) On July 11, 2011, Governor Neil Abercrombie signed into law Act 217,
which amends Hawaii Revised Statutes (H.R.S.) Section 205 to allow solar energy
facilities to be placed within land with soil classified by the State of Hawaii Land
Study Bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating
B, C, D, or E; for those facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall
productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten (10) percent of the
acreage of the parcel, or twenty (20) acres of land, whichever is lesser.
(f) While recognizing the importance of alternative energy, the County
desires to reserve our best agricultural lands for farming, and not allow the
agricultural value of our agricultural lands to be diminished by non - agricultural
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ATTACHMENT NO. 2
uses. [[Jntil the County designates its Important Agricultural Lands, it is
premature to allow the development of solar energy facilities on lands
with B rated soils.]
[(f)hYll This ordinance is concerned solely with the regulations and
requirements for the issuing of those permits established under Chapter 8 of the
Kauai County Code, including but not limited to Zoning Permits and Use Permits.
Approval of said permits does not constitute an approval of other permits or imply
the meeting of other standards that may be required by County, State, or Federal
agencies.
2. Amend Bill No. 2424 by amending Section 2 to read as follows:
SECTION 2. Chapter 8 -1.5 of the Kauai County Code 1987 is amended to
include the following [definition] definitions:
" "Solar Energy Facility" means a use and/or structure(s) that collects
and utilizes the sun's radiant energy as an electrical source for the primary
purpose of commercial distribution. To qualify as a solar energy facility the
use and/or structure(s) must be operated or managed by a registered public
utility pursuant to H.R.S., Chapter 269, or the electricity generated is
transmitted to a registered public utility under a Power Purchase Agreement
(P.P.A.).
"Power Purchase Agreement (P.P.A.)" means a contract in which the
purchaser, a registered public utility pursuant to H.R.S., Chapter 269,
consents to purchasing more than 100 kilowatts of electricity from a
transmitting party."
3. Amend Bill No. 2424 by amending Sec. 8 -7.2 (16) to read as follows:
(16) Solar energy facilities placed [on] within land with soil classified
by the State of Hawaii Land Study Bureau's detailed land classification as
overall (master) productivity rating B C, D, or E; those facilities placed [on]
within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C
shall not occupy more than ten [(10)] percent 10% of the acreage of the
parcel, or twenty (20) acres of land, whichever is [lesser.] less."
(Material to be deleted is bracketed. New material is underscored.)
CS OFFICE FILES / AMENDMENTS /2010 -2012/ BILL NO 2424, D1 PM_ds
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