Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout011110_COST_REGULAR_APPROVED REGULAR MEETING OF THE COST CONTROL COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2010 1:00 P.M. MO'IKEHA BULIDNG LIQUOR CONFERENCE ROOM 3 LIHU'E, KAUAI 96766 Present: Lawrence Chaffin Jr., Chairman Sandi Sterker, Vice- Chair Randy Finlay, Commissioner Michelle Swartman, Commissioner Dirk Apao, Commissioner Absent: Ben Bregman, Commissioner Also Present: John Isobe, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Amy Esaki, First County Attorney Mercedes Youn, Boards and Commissions Staff Call to order: Vice-Chair Finlay called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2010, in Liquor Conference Room 3 at the Mo'ikeha Building. Approval of the agenda: On a motion by Commissioner Swartman, seconded by Commissioner Sterker, and unanimously carried, the Commission approved the meeting agenda for January 11, 2010. Approval of minutes: On a motion by Commissioner Sterker, seconded by Commissioner Swartman and unanimously carried, the Commission approved the meeting minutes of December 14, 2009 as submitted. Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 Business: 1. Selection of the 2010 Chair and Vice-Chair: Motion No. 1 On a motion by Commissioner Sterker, seconded by Commissioner Swartman and unanimously carried, the Commission elects Commissioner Lawrence Chaffin Jr., to serve as the 2010 Chairman for the Cost Control Commission. Motion No. 2 On motion by Commissioner Swartman, seconded by Commissioner Finlay and unanimously carried, the Commission elects Commissioner Sandi Sterker to serve as the 2010 Vice- Chair for the Cost Control Commission. 2. Discussion on future agenda items: Chair elect Lawrence Chaffin Jr. declared that the Commission has approved the meeting agenda and the minutes of December 14, 2009 also confirming the newly elected Officers for 2010, opening the meeting for discussion on future agenda items. Commissioner Finlay informed the Commission that there was a particular item that had been on the agenda for a while and he would like to keep it at the first part of the agenda, referring to the clarification from the Board of Ethics regarding a possible conflict of interest of Board and Commission members appearing before a County Board, Commission or Agency on behalf of private interests, adding that their decision may affect the continuation of some Commissioner's and requested an update from Mr. John Isobe. Appearing before the Commission is the Mayor's Executive Assistant and Administrator for the Office of Boards and Commissions, Mr. John Isobe. Mr. Isobe informed the Commission that he cannot speak on behalf of the Board of Ethics and the update that he is providing today is to the best of his knowledge on where the Board of Ethics stands. Mr. Isobe stated that currently the Board is still deliberating on the policy as whether or not the members of Boards and Commissions can in-fact appear before other governmental entities mainly other Boards and Commissions, as well as the County Council, and he is hoping that the Board members are close in reaching an understanding as it relates to this matter. Mr. Isobe said that he believes that the Board of Ethics will be meeting on Thursday, and at this point they have crafted a draft interpretative and that they are also considering looking at an amendment to the existing code of ordinances - specific to the code of ethics. Although no firm decisions have been made, the Draft Interpretative Rules will have provisions that will prohibit a Board and or Commission member from appearing on behalf of private interest groups before or other Boards and Commissions and Agencies as well 21 Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 as the County Council. As it stands right now, it appears that the inter-action with agencies that are outside of the meeting requirement will not be prohibited and inter- actions focused on people's individual rights as citizens will not be prohibited, in other words anyone of you may testify before any Board or Commission or Agency, as long as you are speaking on your own personal behalf. Another example Mr. Isobe gave is making an appeal for property tax; for this reason any member of a Board or Commission may appear before the County's Board of Review; however, if a member of a Board or Commission is representing a company or a third party interest, this action is prohibited. Mr. Isobe also stated that the Board of Ethics is looking into creating a carve- out provision exception which means that any Board or Commission member may represent a private non-profit entity that provides eleemosynary services to the people of Kaua'i and or State of Hawai'i, further, the Board of Ethics is also looking at entities that will prohibit a member from appearing before a Board or Commission such entities would include political parties, religious and educational. Mr. Isobe informed the Commission that everything that he had expressed to the Commission has not yet been confirmed by the Board of Ethics and is currently being considered. Vice-Chair Sterker asks if the considerations will be a topic of discussion at the Board of Ethics meeting on Thursday. Mr. Isobe stated that yes it will be and he hopes that the Board of Ethics after deliberation comes to a decision. Chair Chaffin asks if a member of this Commission is involved in a company that is going before another board and Commission and he recuse himself from participating in the presentation — will it allow him or her to remain on the Board. Mr. Isobe said that remaining on the Board is not the issue, the issue is the prohibition on whether or not that individual could in-fact appear on behalf of his or her company, adding that as long as you are a member of any Board, there will be certain prohibitions in terms of the kinds of activities that you may or may not be able to engage in. Chair Chaffin then asked, if you are an officer of a company that is appearing before a Commission that you are a member of— should you recluse yourself and not take part of the presentation, "is that appropriate". Mr. Isobe stated that the individual himself or herself would not be able to appear before another entity. Chair Chaffin then asked if the individual would still be able to remain on the Commission. Mr. Isobe said yes, and to make things clear he further explained that there is a provision that is being considered that would allow members to remain on their respective Boards/Commissions even if they are an officer of a company — providing that someone else who also represents the company goes forward with the presentation. Chair Chaffin stated that it sounds reasonable to him. Commissioner Swartman commented that the concern is if there is a conflict of interest should a member appear before another Commission or a Board. Mr. Isobe stressed that it is very important that the appearance of a member before a Board or Commission should be at a duly notice and called meeting. Mr. Isobe explained that it would not prohibit an individual to have a meeting with him in his capacity as an official entity for the County of Kaua'i; any member of a Commission may meet with him, however, as a 31 Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 member of a Commission you will not be able to appear before a Board or Commission at a posted date to testify. Chair Chaffin asked if the Commission's agenda is posted. Mr. Isobe replied yes, stating that all Boards and Commissions meetings are posted. Vice-Chair Sterker asked where are the 4 places that the notice of meeting and agenda gets posted. Staff member Mercedes Youn stated that the agenda's are officially posted (time stamped) with the Office of the County Clerk and then posted at the Office of Boards and Commissions, the County's bulletin board and on the County's website. Chair Chaffin asks the Commission if they have further questions. Commissioner Finlay thanked Mr. Isobe for the update, then he referred to a letter that was sent to the Mayor in September regarding the suspension of all scheduled meetings of the Cost Control Commission until such time whereas; the Board of Ethics reaches a conclusive decision and until that becomes available, the Commission does not want to take action on any agenda items only to find out later that after it has been clarified that there was a violation, and therefore, jeopardizing the credibility of the Commission, he added that currently the Commission is in a suspension mode pending the Board of Ethics clarification. Chair Chaffin noted that the discussions regarding the clarification should be part of the Commissions minutes. Commissioner Finlay stated that once the Commission receives the clarification, the Commission should write letter to the Mayor informing him that the Commission has come out of suspension. Chair Chaffin asked the Commission members if they would like to discuss anything further. Commissioner Finlay stated that he wants to bring everyone up to date regarding the future agenda items, and that the previous Commission have pretty much exhausted their list of items. Note*the Deferred Log list of future agenda items were given to each Commissioner by staff. Vice- Chair Sterker recalls that the Commission had been previously informed that the Hoike service contract had already been completed and approved; she then asked if it was still worth it to place it on the agenda for discussion. Commissioner Swartman agreed with Vice- Chair Sterker stating that she believes that it was too late because the contract has already been extended. Commissioner Finlay stated that as he recalls he was previously informed that the county needed the services of a media company to photo journalize their media needs and to run the equipment and to place it on the county's website and part of the process included that the county creates a list of descriptions that it needed done, then place the information out into the public to request for bids, and from what he understands Hoike came out to be the lowest cost respondent, after he had the opportunity to learn more about the process he understands now of what the process entails, adding that "what more can the Commission do to get a more competitive". Vice-Chair Sterker asks if the Commission would consider this item as no action item and take it off the deferred log of future agenda items. 41 Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 First Deputy Amy Esaki advised the Commission to move to receive the agenda item when it is listed on the next agenda, which will put an end to the item. Vice-Chair Sterker said okay. Commissioner Finlay stated that the second future agenda item is the discussion on the existing operations of the Personnel Department regarding the duplication of work efforts within other departments. Commissioner Finlay recalls that previously the members agreed that the Commission would suspend its future meetings because of the uncertainty, caused by the ongoing discussions and deliberations by the Board of Ethics, adding that should the Board reach a conclusion, the Commission wants to request that Mr. John Isobe be present at the next meeting to brief the Commission on some insight of what direction to take and which department (s) should the Commission focus on. Commissioner Finlay noted that the people with the most information would be a county employee, reminding the Commission that they have the authority to request for information and to ask the hard questions, it would be possible for the Commission to come up with cost saving ideas. Vice- Chair Sterker stated that the Commission will need to wait to take any action on this item until it comes out of suspension. For the third future agenda item regarding the memorandum from Councilmember Jay Furfaro on the Trane Air conditioning system, Commissioner Finlay stated that he believes that when the Council gave a recommendation to the County to get an energy management study done it would include looking into the air conditioner management system as a primary consumer of energy and he believes that Council took that recommendation into consideration. Commissioner Finlay was informed by staff that the Council did receive the recommendations and findings regarding the County performance contract proposal and the establishment of departmental green teams from the Commission, and that the intent of the memorandum from Councilmember Jay Furfaro is to simply request that the Cost Control Commission schedule a presentation on a Council's future meeting agenda on the existing systems in place, relating to the Trane air conditioning pumps, and to provide a thorough understanding of what they can contribute and how they are being managed. To bring some insight to the Commissioner's Chaffin and Apao, Commissioner Finlay explained that in the past the Commission had interviewed Mr. Glenn Sato who is the County's Energy Specialist, informing them that back in the 90's that private companies were solicited for proposals to come into the County to do an energy audit and to come up with cost savings ideas, whether it be new air conditioners or the use of different light bulbs, it turned out that the last time this was done it resulted in a large net savings of $600,000 dollars for the year for County, and that was one of the recommendations made by the Commission to the County to seek another request contract proposals for another company to come forward, adding that it costs the County nothing to get the proposals. 5111a , Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 After hearing the discussions, Chair Chaffin asked if the Commission needs to request for Glenn Sato to appear before the Council or should the Commission put together its recommendations and submit them to the Council. The Commission requested that a letter be sent to Mr. Glenn Sato asking him if he could appear before the Council to provide a thorough understanding of what they can contribute and how they are being regarding a County performance contract proposal and the establishment of departmental green teams. They also request that Mr. Sato do a presentation on the existing systems that are in place, relating to the Trane air conditioning management system and computer programs that monitor circulating pumps. The next future agenda item on the list is the invitation to County Auditor Ernest Pasion, to attend a future meeting of the Cost Control Commission to discuss ways of how the County Auditor can assist the Commission in reducing the cost of government while maintaining a reasonable level of public service. For this item Commissioner Finlay stated that he thinks it is fantastic that the County now has a County Auditor and by having the Commission work closely with the Auditor, there will be a lot of synergy involved, because the Auditor will find issues that can help the Commission come up with agenda items, adding that the Commission has a lot of power to ask questions and to investigate if to find out things where the Commission can make recommendations. Chair Chaffin asked the Commission if the request should be quarterly, semi-annual or annual. Vice-Chair Sterker stated that if the Commission feels that there is a need to have the County Auditor at future meetings, we can request for him to come back. Chair Chaffin asked if the Commission should be talking to him under the table and find out when he has something to put forth. Staff suggested to the Commission that they could request a quarterly report and place it on the agenda for discussion. Commissioner Swartman stated that the Commission should wait to hear from Mr. Pasion if a request for quarterly report would be appropriate. Vice-Chair Sterker stated that the Commission could wait 6 months, because; he may then have enough information done during that period. Commissioner Finlay suggested that the Commission place on the agenda for the February's meeting to come out of suspension and hopefully by then the Commission would have received a clarification from the Board of Ethics. Chair Chaffin asked if a letter should be written to the Council Chair stating that the Cost Control Commission needs the clarification before we can be of any use. Commissioner Finlay stated that the letter to the Mayor addresses that issue, adding that the Commission goes with the hope that a clarification is made before the Commission's February's meeting. 6111agc Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 As a suggestion Chair Chaffin stated that he wonders whether the Commission should still state in the letter that even if the Commission expects that the Ethics Commission will be making a decision at its next meeting, the Cost Control Commission would not be able to proceed until a conclusive decision is made and maybe the Council or the Mayor could apply some pressure on them. Motion No.1 A motion was made by Commissioner Finlay to send a letter to the Mayor requesting clarity on the ongoing deliberation if there is a conflict of interest on whether a Board or Commission member can appear before another Board or Commission on behalf of private interest, and also request the Mayor thoughts about the County's Fiscal condition. Vice-Chair Sterker seconded the motion and it unanimously carried. Correspondences: 1. Review and discuss the communication received on 1/4/2010, from Mr. Wyn Hansen and Mr. Bruce Cunningham on a petition to adjust the rate at the Wailua golf course. Commissioner Finlay stated that he would like to offer a little background on the issue. He said that earlier last year the Commission took on the Wailua golf course rates and the Commission had several meetings with the county's golf course management Mr. Ed Okamoto, and as the Commission was looking into this issue, it revealed that the golf course management themselves agreed that the rate should be increased. And as a recommendation the Commission left it up to the management team to determine how that process was going to proceed and now this Commission is receiving these kinds of communications explaining the level of details and plan, Commissioner Finlay stated that the level of detail and plan was not discussed by the Cost Control Commission but, rather by the golf course management team. Chair Chaffin stated that he was confused because the Commission approved that there should by an increase in the golf course rates but, did not specify a specific amount and somewhere between the Commission and the Council perhaps the management then put in the figures that the Council approved and the Commission did not approve. Mr. Isobe offered a clarification on this matter from a more global view and down to the specifics. Mr. Isobe explained that the role of the Cost Control Commission is to make recommendations through the Mayor and the Cost Control Commission can also propose changes to the existing law, so as you look at it more closely the role of the Cost Control Commission is to do research, investigations in areas the Commission believes are areas where the county can reduce its cost or eliminate duplicate services within its operation. Mr. Isobe also stated that when the Commission makes those findings, its responsible is then to make recommendations to the Mayor and when a recommendation is made to the Mayor the Commission can also attach to the recommendation proposed changes to existing laws that would implement those 71 Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 changes that the Commission is recommending. The Mayor then has a duty to in-fact send on any ordinance that the Commission is recommending and append to that any of his suggestive changes based on his review with an agency or agencies within the County on to the County Council for consideration. Mr. Isobe then referred specifically to the golf course fees as Commissioner Finlay has indicated, it was found that the golf course was losing monies and they recommended that the Department of Parks and Recreation namely the division of the golf course look at ways of which they could reduce its cost and or look at ways to increase its fees to cover the losses and with that directive the golf course superintendent at that time reviewed the fees and met with some of the Kaua'i Golf Association members and came back with the recommendations that stated its direction and ways on how they were going to propose the fee increases. Mr. Isobe recalls that the Cost Control Commission did massage some of those recommendations and ultimately sent a proposed draft ordinance and recommendations to the Mayor and said you should raise the fees and here is a recommended ordinance that the Commission would like for you to consider. Mayor took the recommendations and met with members of the Department of Parks and Recreation and he also met with some of the golfers and adjusted some of the recommendations that was submitted by the Cost Control Commission and sent the adjusted ordinance over to the County Council for consideration, where he believes the Council ultimately adopted. Mr. Isobe noted that he does not know if the Council made any more adjustments. Chair Chaffin stated that this petition needs to be reviewed by someone who is familiar with the proposal because whether the communication is correct or not it needs to be addressed. Motion No.1 Commissioner Finlay made a motion to send the communication to Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Rapozo asking him to respond to this issue as it is not in the Cost Control Commission purview. Vice-Chair Sterker seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Next meeting: Monday, February 08, 2010, meeting to begin at 1:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter at the Mo'ikeha Building — Liquor Meeting Room 3. Adjourn: Motion No. 1 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Sterker, seconded by Commissioner Finlay, and unanimously carries, the Commission adjourned the meeting at 1:47 p.m. 81 Regular Meeting of the Cost Control Commission January 11, 2010 Submitted by: Mercedes Youn Boards and Commissions Staff Approved by: Lawrence Chaffin Jr. Chair Date of approval: February 8, 2010 9111a , c