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HomeMy WebLinkAbout020810_Minutes_APPROVED REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF THE COST CONTROL COMMISSION FEBRUARY 08, 2010 1:00 P.M. MO'IKEHA BUILDING LIQUOR CONFERENCE ROOM 3 4444 RICE STREET LIHU'E, KAUAI 96766 Present: Lawrence Chaffin Jr., Chair Sandi Sterker, Vice-Chair Dirk Apao, Commissioner Linda Faye Collins, Commissioner Delayed: Randy Finlay, Commissioner— delayed Absent: Benjamin Bregman, Commissioner Excused: Michelle Swartman, Commissioner Also Present: Doug Haigh, Chief of Building Division Brian Inouye, Building Officer John Isobe, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Amy Esaki, First Deputy County Attorney Mercedes Youn, Boards and Commissions Staff Call to order: Chair Chaffin called the regular meeting of the Cost Control Commission to order at 1:05 p.m.in the Liquor Conference Room 3. Approval of Agenda: On a motion by Vice-Chair Sterker, seconded by Commissioner Apao, and unanimously carried, the Commission approved the meeting agenda for February 08, 2010. Motion carried 4:0. Approval of minutes: Chair Chaffin stated that he met with staff to correct a few minor typographical (spelling) errors on pages 2, 3. Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission - February 08, 2010. Pagel For clarification Commissioner Collins noted that on page (5) of the minutes where it states "a net savings of $600,000 dollars", it should read "there was a net savings of $600,000 dollars for the year". Motion No.1. There was a motion by Vice-Chair Sterker to approve the meeting minutes of January 20, 2010, as amended. Commissioner Apao seconded this motion. Motion carried 4:0. Chair's Report: o Recap of the orientation training sessions for Boards and Commissions Members held on January 29, 2010, at the Mo'ikeha Building - Meeting room 2 A&B. Chair Chaffin reported that the (2) training session were very well done; the morning session focused on the role of a Board and Commission member its duties, and responsibilities, tips on what resources and materials that are available, general provisions of the law, standards of ethical conduct and guidelines on effective communications. The afternoon session focused on the basic parliamentary procedures. The next orientation training session is scheduled for February 25, 2010, at the Pi'ikoi Bldg in meeting room 2 A&B. 1S` session - 10:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. - Role of Board and Commission Members 2nd session — 1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m. — Basic Parliamentary Procedures Vice- Chair Sterker questioned if the training sessions was a repeat from the previous sessions that she participated last year. Mr. Isobe stated that this year's training session is an expanded version of what was done in the past, and that the Office of Boards and Commissions is now trying to orient the new board and commission members more thoroughly as it was done in the past. Chair Chaffin encouraged the members to attend and commended Mr. Isobe and the boards and commissions' office staff and the Mayor for a job well done. Chair Chaffin reported that he received an email from John Isobe regarding — members contact information. A copy of the email dated 01/20/2010, have been distributed to the members. Commissioner Finlay arrives at the meeting at 1:10: p.m. With no another reports to discuss, Chair Chaffin moved on to the next item of business. Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission - February 08, 2010. Page 2 Communications: o A letter to the Honorable Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., dated 01/12/2010, requesting input and direction on the Board of Ethics ongoing deliberations regarding Section 20.02 D, of the Kaua'i County Charter, including the County's fiscal condition and personnel areas. Chair Chaffin stated that the Commission has not received a response from the Office of the Mayor; and as a reminder to the Commission, the matter of concern is whether a member of a Board or Commission will be allowed to remain on their respective board, even if he or she is involved with another company that may appear before another agency and whether or not recusing oneself from participating in the presentation will be acceptable. Commissioner Collins stated that she currently serves on the Kikialoa Land Company Board of Directors and at times appears before the Planning Commission on behalf of the Board, she questions whether it would be an ethical violation if she does. First Deputy County Attorney Amy Esaki stated that the issue at hand is currently in deliberation with the Board of Ethics. Commissioner Finlay said as he sees it that the way the BOE rules is written- it states that as a Commission or Board member you are prohibited to appear before another county agency, for example if a member of a Board goes to get a driver's license they are in violation of the current ethics rule. Commissioner Faye stated that she is aware of that rule and asked if a clarification has been made by the BOE. Commissioner Finlay stated that the Cost Control Commission is still waiting for a clarification. Chair Chaffin stated that he believes that the problem was with some former Cost Control Commission members who chose to resign their position, because of that one issue, and also because it created a situation where there was a lack of quorum causing the commission to suspend its meetings until a clarification has been determined by the Ethics Commission. File note — Staff will follow up the pending response from the Mayor. o Memorandum from Lenny Rapozo Jr., Director of Parks and Recreation regarding the various budget line item expenditures for the Wailua golf course. (Received on 01/13/2010) Chair Chaffin stated that he was concerned the memo was not dated when it written and he found it unacceptable. Referring to the concerns that were stated in the memo about "other services, indirect costs and other supplies", Chair Chaffin questioned whether the vendor who maintains the golf course is required to have a contract with Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission - February 08, 2010. Page 3 the county to do the various work functions or whether it's their own staff that is doing the work. Deputy County Attorney Amy Esaki stated that the work for the coconut tree trimming goes out to bid and the maintenance of the golf course itself is done by in-house staff. Vice-Chair Sterker stated that she is satisfied with the response from Lenny Rapozo, Director of Parks and Recreation regarding the questions and concerns of Mr. Wyn Hansen and Mr. Bruce Cunningham. Business: o Discussion and deliberation on a presentation from Mr. Doug Haigh, Chief of Building Division, on the existing County air conditioning system (s) and related Trane air conditioning management and monitoring process. *As part of the presentation, the commission received a spreadsheet of the County's Building Tracer Summit Energy Management System (EMS), showing the location of the sites that have the program up and running. Also included in the presentation are the types and number of equipment that is being controlled. Mr. Doug Haigh informed the commission that Mr. Brian Inouye, Building Officer will be giving a brief summary on how county's the energy management system works, adding that the system is primarily a monitoring system which allows them to monitor and control most of the county's air conditioning system for the various county facilities and the system also allows them to control some of the outdoor lighting. Mr. Haigh noted that the energy management system does not control the user habits and actions, for example the liquor conference room has window blinds that could have been pulled up to allow natural light into the room, thus eliminating the need to turn the use the lights. Vice-Chair Sterker asked Mr. Inouye if he could explain the abbreviations that are listed on the spreadsheet. KMPF — Police Headquarters EOC- Civil Defense OPA- Prosecuting Attorney's Office Mr. Inouye explained that the facilities are situated in one location, next to the Federal Judiciary Building on Kapule Highway. Chair Chaffin asked that within these facilities, how many individual rooms have their own thermostat. Mr. Inouye stated that it varies because a single thermostat can be connected to couple of air vents providing the flow of air to numerous rooms and there times where you have an individual meeting room with a single thermostat. (i.e. Liquor conference room). Referring to the police headquarters and the Pi'ikoi building, Mr. Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission - February 08, 2010. Page 4 Inouye stated that these facilities have the VAV control system (Variable Air Volume) and this system allows the users to have better control of the circulation of the air within their individual office spaces. On the other hand you may have the same condition where there is just (1) VAV controlling the air flowing into 2 or 3 individual offices making it impossible for the user to control the air flow. Commissioner Collins asked if a person is controlling it by remote, is someone sitting there watching the controls. Mr. Haigh explained that both he and Brian have the software to do so However; they become quite busy with other projects and cannot always monitor the system. In some cases it does allow for user to control the thermostat while others are preset. Chair Chaffin asked if any of the rooms or buildings is enclosed or sealed in which the circulating air depends on the system or can the user simply open the windows to stop the air flow. Mr. Haigh stated that he does not believe that any of the county facilities have operable windows with A/C at this point, however; with the new renovations scheduled for the Old Historic County Building we plan to have operable windows put in. Currently the new Annex building located adjacent to the Old Historic Building has operable windows with an A/C system. Commissioner Collins asked whether county trains its user's or at least have formal training programs in place. Mr. Haigh said no, adding that they do not have the authority over the users. Commissioner Collins asked if they have made suggestions. Mr. Haigh said, yes they have. Mr. Inouye stated that basically the spreadsheet shows the five (5) different buildings that have the energy management system in operation and the system is basically used to control the on/off switch and to monitor the room temperature keeping them at an acceptable temperature level. Chair Chaffin questioned if this system is applicable to the (4) or (5) buildings that are being discussed, adding that Annex building is relatively new as opposed to the civil defense building. Mr. Inouye said no, because they do not have any control of the thermostats for the Llhu'e Civic Center -Mo'ikeha Buildings, he has however, sent out memos to each departments recommending that they should set their thermostats between 70 and 75 degrees. Commissioner Collins stated that this is her first meeting and questions what the Commission is trying to determine. Vice-Chair Sterker stated that last year the Commission started to explore the idea of green studies, looking for ways for the county to save money on energy consumption. To shed some light on purpose of the commission, Mr. John Isobe, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, explained that several months back the commission recommended that the county does, as a request from the Office of Economic Development an energy audit in which a third party contractor comes into the county to look for ways (solutions) Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission- February 08, 2010. Page 5 to reduce energy consumption for the county of Kaua'i. This recommendation was sent to the Mayor as well as to the County Council and at that point Councilmember Furfaro sent a communication over to the Cost Control Commission requesting that the Commission schedule a presentation to be given by the Building Division on some of the existing systems that the county has in place, in particular the Trane air conditioning management system that are placed within certain county facilities and computer programs that monitor circulating pumps. Councilmember Furfaro's intent was to educate the Commission on the capacities and items that the county has in place over the last few years, and to have a thorough understanding of what they can contribute and how that are currently being managed. Commissioner Collins stated that now that we understand how it works, the next question is how it can be made more sufficient (green) and less costly. Mr. Isobe stated that although the Building Division has the ability to monitor the system, they really do not have the authority to make demands, they can only make suggestions. As he sees this issue now Mr. Isobe stated that the users need to make their own self determination on the kind of program that the county is now under and the Commission may want to do an analysis or leave it as it is for now and focus on other issues. He reminded the Commission that this is only a presentation by the Building Division at the request of Councilmember Furfaro, to provide the Commission a better understanding of how the Trane air conditioning system works within certain facilities. Commissioner Collins then questioned if the Building Division would like the ability to control the system. Mr. Haigh stated that the Building Division is only a service organization and only do what they are told to do adding that they do not want to be the energy police, however; if they were told to be the energy police they would be the energy police. Commissioner Collins asked Mr. Haigh, on what his recommendation would be on how to control or reduce cost. Mr. Haigh stated that to reduce cost- he would suggest that people pay more attention to the memo's that Brian sends out and recommends that the user sets the thermostat to a desired room temperature and to focus on using natural light in certain rooms with windows. Vice-Chair Sterker asked if the Commission can recommend to the users to set their settings to where it conserves energy thus, keeping the cost down. Chair Chaffin asked if it would be feasible to set a thermostat so that they cannot go below 72 degrees or 75 degrees. Referring to the Liquor Conference room Mr. Inouye stated that the room is not set up to do that, however; there might be a way to do it at the newer buildings. Chair Chaffin said that he feels that this is a very important phase to evaluate, however; he does not want to tell Mr. Haigh and Mr. Inouye what to do. Vice-Chair Sterker stated that the information presented by the Building Division should be taken by the Commission to use as a guide to make recommendations to the Mayor. Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission- February 08, 2010. Page 6 Mr. Haigh stated that with the Office of Economic Development doing an energy audit - that document could be used to help the Building Division to move forward in identifying areas within the county that could use the adjustment to conserve energy consumption, thus saving the county money. The energy audit would also help to modify the behavior of the user because a lot of the information would be coming from an outside expert. Mr. Haigh stated that the Commission is proceeding in the right manner by supporting the energy audit. Commissioner Collins asked whether the energy audit has been funded. Mr. Haigh said that he has no idea. Commissioner Finlay recalled that last year the Commission reviewed a lot of energy saving methods and has also met with Mr. Glenn Sato, the County's Energy Management Specialist the meeting resulted with a recommendation by Commission to the Mayor to have an energy audit done for the entire county, the last energy audit was done about 15 years ago, so it time for another one. Chair Chaffin asked what the status of the energy audit. Mr. Haigh said that he does not know because the Office of Economic & Development is handling it, and as Commissioner Finlay mentioned it's probably in the procurement process. Chair Chaffin confirms that this presentation was more of an informational one and as of right now there is no information available on the status of the energy audit. With no other discussion, Mr. Haigh and Mr. Inouye left the meeting at 2:10 p.m. Motion No.1 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Sterker to obtained information on the status of energy audit, seconded by Commissioner Collins and unanimously carried. Motion carried 5:0. *File note -The Commission has requested a status report on the energy savings performance contract. *staff will follow up on the request for a written status update on the County's efforts on energy savings performance contract/energy audit. Commissioner Collins made a request that the Commission puts together a campaign whereas; to require the users to be aware of their part in energy conservation for the county. Vice-Chair Sterker asked if the Commission can make a recommendation to all of the departments recommending that they practice energy savings methods. Mr. Isobe stated that he believes that the Commission can make a recommendation as they choose to, however; the real question is "what level of detail does the Commission want to get into"? and as Commissioner Finlay said, the Commission has already made its recommendations globally that an energy audit should be conducted and part of that recommendation was for the County to form Departmental Green Teams Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission- February 08, 2010. Page 7 o Discussion on the County's annual contract and budget for Hoike video production. A request was made by Vice-Chair Sterker that the commission remove this item from the deferred item list as no action will be taken by the Commission regarding this issue. Motion No.1 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Sterker to remove this item from the deferred item list, seconded by Commissioner Collins and unanimously carried. Motion 5:0. Next meeting: A request was made by Chair Chaffin relating to the County Attorney's Office on the cost and circumstances under which the attorney's office utilizes the services of special outside legal counsel. Motion No. 1 On a motion by Chair Chaffin, seconded by Commissioner Finlay, and unanimously carried, the Commission requests an overview of the County Attorney's Office operational cost relating to the utilization of services of special outside counsel. Motion carried 5:0. *File note- Staff will send a memo to the Office of the County Attorney to discuss various issues relating to the County Attorney's utilization of services for special counsel. At the request of the members all upcoming commission meetings will now start at 1:30 p.m. o Monday, March 08, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. at the Mo'ikeha Building in the Liquor Conference Room 3. Adjournment: Motion No.1 With no other business to discuss a motion was made by Vice-Chair Sterker to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Apao and unanimously carried. Motion carried 5:0 Meeting adjourned at 2:25 p.m. Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission - February 08, 2010. Page 8 Submitted by: Mercedes Youn Staff Approved by: Lawrence Chaffin, Jr. Chair Date approved: March 08, 2010, as amended Regular meeting minutes of the Cost Control Commission- February 08, 2010. Page 9