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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-6-09 Open Space Commission Minutes Approved COUNTY OF KAUAI PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, & NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND COMMISSION Liliu'e Civic Center, Moikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/213 MINUTES A regular meeting of the County of Kauai, Public Access, Open Space, & Natural Resources Preservation Fund Commission of the County of Kaua'i was held on June 9, 2011, in the Lihu'e Civic Center, Moikeha Building Meeting Room 2A/2B. The following Commissioners were present: Tessie Kinnaman, Chairperson, Johanna Ventura, Vice Chairperson, Linda Dela Cruz, Maurice Nakahara, and Jean Souza. The following Commissioners were absent: Four (4) vacancies. The following staff members were present: Nani Sadora, Duke Nakamatsu, and Deputy County Attorney Ian Jung. CALL TO ORDER Chair Kinnaman called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: It was moved by Tessie Kinnaman and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to approve the agenda. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES — Regular meeting minutes of 2/24/11, 3/10/11, and 3/24/11 and 4/28111. Regular meeting minutes of 2/24/11 —Approved. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to approve the 2/24/11 meeting minutes. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. I Regular meeting minutes of 3/10/11 —Approved. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to approve the 3/10/11 meeting minutes. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Regular meeting minutes of 3/24/11 —Approved. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to approve the 3/24/11 meeting minutes. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Regular meeting minutes of 4/28/11 —Approved. Commissioner Souza requested insertion of the word "Commission" before the word "recommendations" in the 4t" paragraph on page 2 under new business. On page 5, under unfinished business, Commissioner Souza requested the insertion of "to the County Council" after the words "Commission's presentation" in the 2nd subheading. In the 2nd to the last paragraph on page 6, Commissioner Souza requested the insertion of"motor cross" before the word "group". In the 2nd and 6t" paragraphs on page 9, Commissioner Souza noted that "pursing" should be "pursuing". Commissioner Ventura suggested an amendment to the fifth paragraph on page 8 from "She said her concern was that the Hodge property had special qualifications" to "She said her concern was that with the Hodge property, the Land Trust had special qualifications" Commissioner Souza requested that on in the last paragraph on page 10, the word "orphaned" be placed in parenthesis. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Johanna Ventura to approve the 4/28//11 meeting minutes as amended. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. 2 ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements. RECEIPT OF ITEMS FOR THE RECORD Deputy County Attorney Jung noted that this agenda item is generally coined for outside materials that are submitted to the Commission for testimony. There were not items to receive for the record. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Status of filling of vacant Commissioner positions. Ms. Sadora stated that the Council has not received any applications for consideration. Commissioner Ventura questioned if the possibility of a press release was discussed with the Office of Boards & Commissions. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that the Office of Boards & Commissions wanted to first work with the Council first to determine any applicants they had lined up. Ms. Sadora stated that the latest communication was that there were no applications received or being reviewed by Council. Commissioner Ventura stated that it has been 3 months since the Commission last spoke with Mr. Isobe from the Office of Boards & Commissions and noted that they will not be able to meet on the 23rd due to no quorum. She stated that she did not understand the reluctance of issuing a press release. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that they wanted to attempt to do a consorted effort. He stated that there was one person who came to pick up an application and that he would follow up on the status at the next meeting. He questioned if the Commission had anyone from the Kapa`a area that they would recommend. Commissioner Ventura stated that she did not understand why the potential of a press release was not being explored. She stated that doing a huge blasting through contacts is not exclusive to doing a press release. She encouraged exploring the idea. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that he would speak with Mr. Isobe on Monday and report back by the next meeting. He stated he believed the reason was because it has never been done before so they wanted to explore all old channels first. He questioned 3 if the Commission wanted to draft an announcement or if they would like the communications office to come up with a draft. Commissioner Souza stated that the Council and the Administration should do the press release because they are responsible for appointing the commissioner, but she stated that if it would get the ball rolling, the Commission could draft the announcement. She stated that the Commission has already submitted a list of recommendations. She stated that she is considering resigning because she is unable to attend every meeting. She noted that there have been vacancies for 2 years, and she requested informing the Administration and Council that the Commission has only been able to have one out of every two scheduled meetings due to lack of quorum. Ms. Sadora stated that the urgency of having only five commissioners is communicated with every request for an update. Commissioner Souza requested informing them that they have only been able to meet one out of every two meetings and that they are in jeopardy of not meeting their obligation to complete their annual report. Chair Kinnaman stated that Mr. Isobe was also going to follow up on whether the at- large position could be changed to the Kilauea district. Commissioner Nakahara stated that he understands the frustration that the other commissioners are feeling. He stated that he is able to attend most of the meetings, but would be taking a vacation in October. He noted that if any one of the current commissioners is unable to attend the meeting there would be no quorum. Commissioner Ventura stated that she understood that it is not the staff's decision on whether or not to pursue a press release. She suggested notifying the decision makers that the Commission is pushing for it. Commissioner Souza suggested sending a correspondence to the Mayor and Council Chair notifying them that because there are four vacancies and the Commission has not been able to meet all of the scheduled meetings due to lack of quorum, the Commission is suggesting a combined press release to generate more applications. She noted that the Commission is in a desperate situation. Chair Kinnaman stated that she would like to see Commissioner Nakahara's position changed to represent the North Shore district to open up the at-large position. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that there could be a potential problem because of the way they are appointed and the amount of terms they can fill. Commissioner Kinnaman questioned the possibility of Commissioner Nakahara resigning and reapplying for the North Shore position. 4 Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that if the press release is issued, the candidates could be evaluated and that option could be considered. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Johanna Ventura that the Chair sends a letter to the Mayor and the Council Chair encouraging them to do a combined press release to generate more interest in applicants to fill the four vacant commissioner positions. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Update and discussion of the Commission's work plan/timeline of events and activities through 2011, to include future Commission education topics and scope and timing of facilitated review of the Commission's vision, goals, direction, priorities, processes, and proposals. Chair Kinnaman suggested starting the timeline for the public input process. She noted that last year's input was conducted in June. Commissioner Souza stated that she hopes that the Ordinance would be amended to require a biennial report instead of an annual report. Review and discussion on proposed amendments to Ordinance 812. Chair Kinnaman stated that the latest draft of the Ordinance includes the word "biennial" in place of "annual" report. Deputy County Attorney Jung suggested that the Commission make a motion that this draft be the final form to be submitted to the Mayor for the Council to pursue. Commissioner Souza questioned if the Deputy County Attorney and the Planning Director still had comments. Ms. Sadora stated that as of her last communication, the Director was okay with the document as the final version. She stated that Mr. Isobe from the Boards & Commissions office had some comments regarding the last page. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that he spoke with Mr. Isobe and his concerns were with the original draft of the proposed amendments. He stated that it would be the Planning Director's obligation to speak with the Administration to support the amendments. Commissioner Souza stated that she thought the amendments were going to be submitted to the Council by the Administration. 5 Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that it would be up to the Commission. He stated that if the Mayor is willing to introduce it based on the Commission's recommendation, then they could introduce it that way. Commissioner Ventura stated that the benefit of presenting it to the Mayor at the meeting next week would be that they could explain their rationale. She stated that she thought the Commission already moved to accept the amendments and also moved to approve the replacement of "annual" with "biennial". Chair Kinnaman agreed that the motions have already been approved at prior meetings. Commissioner Ventura stated that according to the April 28 meeting minutes, the conversation was that the Commission would wait to hear back from the Planning Director so they could address any comments that he had before making a final approval. She stated that the motion was to replace the word "annual" with "biennial". She recommended making a motion to approve the draft pending technical corrections for submittal to the Mayor on behalf of the Commission for his consideration. Commissioner Souza stated that Councilwoman Nakamura requested a copy of the draft amendments. Ms. Sadora stated that she did not want transmit anything to Council until the Commission had an opportunity to submit it to the Mayor first. Commissioner Ventura noted that according to the February 24 meeting minutes, the Commission moved to allow the Planning Department to finalize the document and submit it to the Administration on the Commission's behalf, but at the April 28 meeting, the Commission made the motion to change the word "annual" to "biennial". MOTION: It was moved by Johanna Ventura and seconded by Maurice Nakahara to approve the draft Ordinance amendments pending technical corrections for submittal to the Mayor on behalf of the Commission for his consideration. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Commissioner Souza requested that the Commission transmit a copy of the document to Councilwoman Nakamura with a cc to the other Council members and the Chair. Deputy County Attorney Jung suggested cc to the Council Chair and Committee Chair only. Commissioner Souza stated that all of the Council members except Councilmember Bynum were part of the discussion. Commissioner Ventura suggested forwarding the draft, noting cc to the other Council members at the discretion of their protocols or the County Clerk. 6 Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that if it is just for informational purposes, the Chair and the Committee Chair would be sufficient. He stated that if the Mayor does not want to introduce it, then the Commission could see if the Council would introduce it. Commissioner Souza stated that she wanted to comply with the Councilmember Nakamura's request. She stated that when the request was made, the other Council members were present except for Council member Bynum, so she wanted to cc everyone as a courtesy. Deputy County Attorney Jung noted that the Open Space Commission falls under the Planning Department which is affected by the Planning Committee. Commissioner Ventura stated that if the Commission will be asking the Mayor to introduce it then what she is hearing is that maybe the Administration should have time to review and comment on it first. She questioned if a communication could be sent to Councilwoman Nakamura thanking her for her input and notifying her that the Commission has made that change and has submitted a draft to the Administration. Commissioner Souza stated that the Commission made a commitment to send Councilmember Nakamura a draft. Deputy County Attorney Jung suggested meeting with the Mayor first to include any suggestions he may have in order to avoid any confusion. But he stated that if the Commission wants to send draft versions to all Council members they could. Commissioner Ventura stated that if the request was to see the current draft, she suggested honoring that request without a cc to all members, but informing Councilmember Nakamura that it is being presented to the Mayor for his consideration for introduction. She stated that she Councilwoman Nakamura's interest is likely due to her past work with the Commission. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Maurice Nakahara that the Commission submit a letter with the latest draft to Councilmember Nakamura with a courtesy cc to the Council Chair in response to her request to the Commission for a draft version of the Bill with a note that this is the version that will be submitted to the Mayor next week for his consideration and review for possible submission to the County Council for consideration. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Commissioner Souza questioned how long it would take from the time the Mayor receives the draft to possibly submitting it to the Council. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that it would depend, but if it is transmitted within a week then it would be up to the Chair when to place it on the agenda. He stated that if it 7 gets on the agenda within a month, then it would go for first reading at Council level and would be referred to the Planning Committee. Then a public hearing would be held which requires a 20 day notice. Then it would be pushed out of committee with a report on whether to approve it or not or with recommended changes or not. Then it would go for final reading. He said minimum would be about 3 months. Commissioner Souza questioned how long it would take to go from the Mayor to the County Council. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that the Mayor would still need to review it with his team. He said it would be placed on a list of priorities. Commissioner Ventura stated that realistically the earliest it would pass would probably be December. Commissioner Souza noted that would mean that the Commission will need to submit a report for this year. Update and discussion of the 2011 public input process pursuant to Ordinance No. 812 for developing an annual list of priority projects to be reported (2011 Report) to the Kaua'i County Council and the Mayor. Commissioner Ventura stated that in terms of the public input process, if the Commission plans to collect input in November, they would still be in compliance with the intent of doing annual input. Then they would be editing the 2011 report in the early part of 2012. Commissioner Souza stated that if the change to the Ordinance happens it would buy the Commission two years and would allow transition time for the new Commissioners since she and Chair Kinnaman would be rotating off the Commission next year. Chair Kinnaman noted that last year's press release ran on July 1. Commissioner Ventura questioned the cost of the advertising. Staff noted that the cost of advertising was approximately $2,000. Commissioner Ventura stated that last year the Commission received a total of 157 survey responses. Commissioner Souza questioned duration of last year's public input period. Commissioner Ventura noted that the survey period ended on August 15. 8 Commissioner Souza summarized that there were two Garden Island ads, paper surveys, an online survey, an interview on the Mayor's show, radio interviews, and presentations at regular community organization meetings. Chair Kinnaman stated that the public analysis was during the first meeting in September, and then culling of the list was during the second meeting in September. Commissioner Ventura noted that the HCPO conference will take place in September. She stated that the first meeting in September would need to focus on finalizing the presentations for that conference. She suggested that the Commission may want to push the public input process back by a month to end September 15. She recommended starting the input process August 1 through September 15. Commissioner Souza agreed that starting on August 1 would be good. Chair Kinnaman stated that they could use the same survey and press release. Commissioner Ventura stated that she was happy with the press release last year. She suggested aligning the input process to match meetings with the different neighborhood associations. She liked the KONG radio interviews and suggested considering including KCCR. She noted that some of the neighborhood associations may not be meeting as regularly during the summer months and suggested coordinating the input period to correspond with existing meetings. Chair Kinnaman questioned the amount of surveys received from the Garden Island ad. Ms. Sadora noted that they did not receive many paper surveys from the Garden Island ad, but she noted some of the online surveys may have been generated as a result of the ad. Commissioner Ventura stated that from all of the sources, there were a total of 157 in 2010. She noted that although they reached out to the Hanalei/H5'ena community association they actually were not meeting during the input process so they sent out an email to their members. She stated that the people who participate in the neighborhood associations are pretty active and educated on community issues. She stated that if they accommodate as many community meetings as they could, it would be a good starting point. Chair Kinnaman noted that the next general meeting of the Koloa Community Association would be in October. Commissioner Souza noted that the Hanalei/Ha'ena community association has membership meetings every other month. She believed that the next membership meeting would be on July 19 so the 3rd week in September would be the membership meeting after that. She noted that the Kilauea community association meets the first Tuesday of the month. 9 Commissioner Ventura noted that they also missed the west side meetings last year. She suggested considering other active groups like Rotary Club, Lions Club, Kiwanis, and Kaua'i Chamber of Commerce. She questioned if staff could call the various groups to determine their meeting schedules through October 15. Commissioner Dela Cruz noted that the Rotary Club meets on Tuesday evenings on the West Side. She stated that the West Kaua'i Business Association is also good, but they are working people so is often a small group. Commissioner Souza stated that Kalepa Sunrise meets on Tuesday mornings. She noted that there are other community groups that are growing in activity such as the Hanalei Watershed Hui and the H5'ena Sustainable Fishery Group and others on the West side. She cautioned that there may be a disconnect between the expectations and performance and she suggested the Commission may want to consider identifying various options. Commissioner Ventura stated that there may be momentum with sites such as Kaneiolouma. She stated that when the Commission did the regional meetings, there was an IT person, the Planner and staff. Commissioner Souza stated that regional meetings would also need to be advertised. Commissioner Ventura noted that there were less than 10 people at the meeting in Hanalei. Commissioner Souza noted that in some years there were a lot of hunters, but in other years there were not more than 10 attendees. Commissioner Ventura stated that her opinion was that it made more sense to reach out to established groups that are already meeting. She agreed that there is the potential to overreach and generate expectations that are not filled, especially with the anticipation that is building for the heiau. Commissioner Souza agreed that there are projects that have their own momentum. She suggested not hosting regional meetings since community groups generate their own attendance. Commissioner Nakahara agreed that it would be better to present at existing community meeting agendas. Commissioner Ventura suggested that they could utilize the input process as a means to stimulate community support for opportunities that already have momentum and they could spend more time discussing the 2010 recommendations and ways to further support them. 10 Commissioner Souza noted that the Ordinance doesn't specify how they obtain public input or the topic. She felt that Commissioner Ventura's suggestion takes a different angle that they may want to consider. Commissioner Ventura noted that the 2010 recommendations have community momentum and it may be interesting to try to support them. The Commission agreed to not sponsor their own special Commission presentation meetings. Commissioner Souza stated that all they need is a good article in a couple of publications and it would save money. Commissioner Ventura stated that she liked the visual aspects of the ad, but was uncertain of the value. Commissioner Souza stated that if you provide the graphics and make the press release interesting with quotes, they would run the article with the graphic. Chair Kinnaman stated that she liked the ad in the newspaper. She questioned the possibility of one ad instead of two. Commissioner Souza noted that she would be unable to assist with the printing of the brochures this year. Ms. Sadora stated that printing of the brochures could be done in-house. Commissioner Ventura stated that since there is $1000 they may want to see what the other costs would be. Ms. Sadora noted that the set up fee would be minimal since they would only be making minimal changes. Commissioner Ventura suggested deferring the discussion on advertising until the next meeting. Chair Kinnaman stated that the next meeting will be on July 28, 2011. Commissioner Dela Cruz stated that she has been working double shifts each day and her schedule not known until a week prior. Commissioner Souza stated that since the fiscal year has ended, they would not have the opportunity to utilize the funding for paid advertisement. She stated that she did not feel it was important to purchase an ad this year. 11 Commissioner Dela Cruz noted that only the dates would need to be changed and everything else on the template would be the same, so she did not think that it would be that expensive. Commissioner Souza stated that the Commission could arrange an interview or press release so that it would be an article instead of a paid advertisement. She felt that it was good last year for the attention, but she didn't feel that there was value this year. She noted that there may be many supporters of the fisherman access on the west side. She suggested trying to determine how much interest there is in those types of accesses with the possibility for other interests or suggestions. Commissioner Ventura agreed that there is community momentum behind some of last year's recommendations. She suggested that there could be a press release with an invitation to do an interview for the Commission, but she stated that reporters might also be interested in featuring community groups and their hopes for sites. Commissioner Souza stated that the Commission could make an arrangement with the media to do a series of articles. She suggested that the first article could focus on the Commission's need to come up with a list and wanting to obtain further input on last year's recommendations. The next articles could focus on the individual sites, the people who are advocating for it, the resources, and the vision and promote the Commission's survey link for more information. Commissioner Nakahara stated that he agreed with Commissioner Souza. He noted stated that acquisition is only part of the Commission's responsibility. He noted that they are also responsible for looking at accesses that have been denied. Commissioner Ventura stated that the acquisition of the Hodge parcel involved a community based champion soliciting the support and promoting it. She noted that there are ideally other community champions, but the Commission can make those connections. Commissioner Nakahara questioned the status of the Hodge property. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that they were going to incorporate it into the Parks Master Plan. Commissioner Souza questioned if it could be mowed and used for picnic benches. Commissioner Nakahara noted that there is a part where the property dips. He stated that when there are big rains, the water will go through that property. Deputy County Attorney Jung stated that the dip was created because the land owner began installing the footings for the home. He said that the Parks & Recreation Department wanted to ensure that they had the deed before they began mowing the 12 Hodge property. He stated that once the Park Plan is finalized they will determine what they will do. NEW BUSINESS Discussion on the Commission's presentation of the County of Kaua'i, Public Access, Open Space, & Natural Resources Preservation Fund Commission 2010 report to the Mayor. Chair Kinnaman stated that the meeting with the Mayor is scheduled for Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. She questioned if Commissioner Souza would be able to attend. Commissioner Souza stated that she would be available to attend the meeting. Chair Kinnaman stated that they would be presenting the Commission's 2010 report to the Council and the Mayor and the draft Ordinance amendments. Commissioner Ventura requested that an update from the meeting with the Mayor be placed on the agenda for the next meeting. Commissioner Souza questioned the unresolved issues report. She noted that the Planning Department owes the County Council a report. Ms. Sadora stated that it has been taken off of the agenda until she receives direction from the Department on how to proceed. NEXT MEETING DATE AND AGENDA TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION Chair Kinnaman stated that the agenda would be the same for the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to adjourn the meeting. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Resp,ectfully submitted by: 1 , Duke Nakamatsu, Support Clerk 13 tl r,.