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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/24/2013 Special Council Meeting Minutes-Interviews SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 24, 2013 The Special Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by the Council Chair Jay Furfaro at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Room 201, Lihu`e, Kauai, on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 8:32 a.m., after which the following members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Tim Bynum (present 8:37 a.m.) Honorable Gary L. Hooser Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura Honorable Mel Rapozo Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura (present 8:39 a.m.) Honorable Jay Furfaro APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Mr. Rapozo moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by Ms. Nakamura, and unanimously carried. INTERVIEWS: FIRE COMMISSION: • Heidy K. Huddy-Yamamoto —Term ending 12/31/2013 Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: I lived on Kaua`i my whole life and I am currently employed at Costco Wholesale. Chair Furfaro: Heidy, can you tell us a little bit more for all the members. I know you and my wife were Kapa'a High School classmates. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: Yes we are. Chair Furfaro: If you can give us a little bit of background about yourself. You have served on other Boards and Commissions, and we would certainly like to hear about it. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: I believe that volunteerism is quite essential. It is a very important part of our community and the success of the Y p p Y community. I served on the Police Commission for two terms under Mayor Kusaka and that was a very important part of my life. My dad was a retired Police Officer, so that meant a lot to me. I certainly learned a lot about the Police Department and { likewise, now, I am hoping to learn about the Fire Commission. I know a little bit about it, I certainly want to learn more about it. I know that there certain responsibilities as a Fire Commissioner to review processes, to once a year review the performance of the Fire Chief, to review the budget, and also to prepare an annual report ort for the Mayor. I am hoping I can be confirmed today, or hopefully, to serve on the Fire Commission to learn that part of our community. Thank you. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 2 APRIL 24, 2013 Chair Furfaro: The actual vote on the appointment is scheduled for today after the interviews and it will be Paula's Office that will get back to you regarding the appointment. Mr. Kagawa: I want to thank you, Heidy for previously serving on the Police Commission and volunteering to serve on the Fire Commission. I see your friendly face at Costco a lot because I go there a lot and now I can at least put the name to the face. I think our Police and Fire Departments are the most important part of our responsibility on the County for public safety and I think they are very challenged in the past few months with a lot of drownings and bad weather, so I am just hoping that you can help to support them and anything else that may come up. We definitely want to support you and keep our communication open with you folks. Thank you. Mr. Rapozo: No real questions. I think you sold me my Costco membership, if I am not mistaken. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: Of course, I did. Mr. Rapozo: You did not force me to buy a Costco membership but thank you very much for your past service and what will be your continued service. Good luck and you got a good Department with the Fire Department — well managed, well run. I am looking forward to working with you moving forward. Thank you. Ms. Nakamura: Thank you so much, first of all, for putting your name forward and your commitment to public service. I wanted to ask you, what did you learn from your experience on the Planning Commission that you think will help serve you in this new position? Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: I was not on the Planning Commission. Ms. Nakamura: I am sorry, the Police Commission. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: What it taught me was to be impartial. When we were reviewing complaints that came before the Commission, you had to distance yourself from personal feelings. Being a local person, sometimes you have these ties but having to review these things with impartiality was something I learned. That and holding myself up... I was always taught on Kaua`i that you had to respect your elders and respect people around you, that was something almost beaten into you, figuratively. But more so when you are on a Commission, you have to hold yourself to a higher standard and that was another thing that I learned to do even when I was stopped to get a speeding ticket when I was on the Police Commission, I held myself to a higher level. Ms. Nakamura: We just went through the Budget Reviews for every Department and one of the observations that I had with the Fire Department has to do with the periodic fire check-ups or safety check-up of businesses. By law, we have to do it by "x" number of years and yet the problem is with the manpower and to really focus on that issue. I just hope that as a Fire Commissioner that you will take a look at that one issue and work with the Chief to really strategize on how to address that as we move forward. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: Duly noted. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 3 APRIL 24, 2013 Ms. Nakamura: Thank you. Mr. Hooser: I just want to echo what some of my colleagues have said and thank you for your willingness to serve and spend the time necessary to work on behalf of the citizens of Kaua`i. Thank you very much. Ms. Yukimura: How wonderful to see you and I have no questions or doubts that you will do a good job, so I appreciate your willingness to step forward. I look forward to your contributions on that Commission. Thank you. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: Thank you so much. Mr. Bynum: I apologize for coming in late and I very much value your service and I want to thank you. It is a great Commission. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: I agree, thank you. Chair Furfaro: I wanted to just say that I look forward to your contribution on the Commission. I will be supporting your nomination today when we vote. I remember some great times talking with your dad who was very much involved in public service, Uncle Bill Huddy. I remember him telling me once about everyone in Hanalei and how they would go to the Koolau area to see Auntie Lydia Gomes who was a Huddy but she evidentially had the finest poi pounder and taro grinder on the North Shore. Everybody was well connected to Uncle Bill and his commitment to government is what I remember your dad about and I am sure you had some great understandings of how the history of Kaua`i's government as it relates to his many years of service in government here. You will be getting my support here today and thank you. We have no more questions and Paula's Office will be making contact with you after we vote later today. Ms. Huddy-Yamamoto: I appreciate it. Thank you so much all of you. Have a great day and see you at Costco. COST CONTROL COMMISSION: • Joanne P. Nakashima — Term ending 12/31/2013 Chair Furfaro: Hi Joanne, it is great to see you. Ms. Nakashima: I have lived on Kaua`i for forty-three years. I am a retired educator and up until this current year, I still did some work but I am retired right now. The last nine years, I was a Legislative Aide at the State Senate, seven years with Senator Hooser, and the last two years with the Office of the President of the Senate who is now Lieutenant Governor. Because he is Lieutenant Governor, I am here otherwise I would still been working in the Legislative Session. I have been able to look a little bit at what the Cost Control Commission does and this one paragraph, they review personnel costs, real property taxes, travel budgets, and contract procedures. In my work I have been involved in all of those areas and I think I can bring that to the Commission members on what it is like to operate the rules that are made and how you stretch your money as far as you can with the set budget. Why do I want to do this? I have made it my effort in life to do the education and I did not have much time during my work years to look at how County Council is working and what it is doing here. Much of the work here, you SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 4 APRIL 24, 2013 have to work with the State government so I know something about the interaction. I think most of all I love Kaua`i, I am just so grateful that my life journey has brought me here and since I have time now, I can put some effort into giving back to this place that I love. And the Mayor asked me. How can you say "no" to the Mayor? Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Ms. Nakashima: Anything else you want to know? Chair Furfaro: I actually have some fond memories serving on the Board with you with Chief Fujita and that was more than a month ago but... Ms. Nakashima: Yes, thank you. I do not mind telling the group that the Chair was a part of helping to develop Child & Family Services on this island. It is one of our really wonderful services that are continuing and so he was here in the beginning working and I guess I am happy to see you. Chair Furfaro: Joanne, I am very happy to see you step forward. I think your time with Child & Family Services and the start up, the work that you have done with Senator Hooser's Office when he was in the Senate, and with State Government is nothing but a big plus here for us. Your commitment on that Board as it was then was a big impression for me about volunteerism and I want to thank you for that. Let me go around the table, I do not have any questions for you and I will definitely be supporting you in the vote later today. Ms. Nakashima: Thank you. Mr. Hooser: My first thought was to declare a conflict because I am assuming that we are not allowed to vote on family and then I realized that we are not actually blood family but... Ms. Nakashima: Actually when we were in the airport together, people have come up and said "is that your son?" Mr. Hooser: Ms. Nakashima just talked about a great love for Kauai and I think it is fair to say that Kaua`i has a great love for Ms. Y g Nakashima. I certainly do. The entire second floor of the Capitol also has fond memories, like you do, and now half of the fifth floor in the Lieutenant Governor's Office also. My first thought is that you are being underutilized. We should have you interacting with more with the State Government perhaps but I want to thank you very much for all your service and certainly for stepping up to do this. I know there are plenty of things you can do and we need good people, and I do not have any questions. I just want to thank you for your service. Yq just Y Y Ms. Yukimura: Welcome Joanne to y our next adventure in public service. As people share their stories about knowing you and your work, I want to share that after the hurricane you and others, in your work in Department of Education (DOE), started the Mokihana Project which addresses the mental health needs of our young people. That was a huge system change and other Counties are looking at us because of how we do it here. I know your capacity for analysis and system thinking and so in that respect your really appropriate for the Cost Control Commission. Though I agree with Councilmember Hooser that you have talents beyond that and I was thinking maybe we should use Joanne as our SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 5 APRIL 24, 2013 Lobbyist for the County Council. In this context, I also want to thank you. I do not have any questions about your qualifications. This budget process has made us aware more than ever of the need for efficiency and better ways of doing things in this County in an era of a very limited budget and actually whether it is limited or not, even if we had a lot of money, there is a responsibility to use that money well. Thank you for your service. I just have one question, are there any areas that you would particularly like to zoom in on? Do you know of any at this point? You may not. Ms. Nakashima: Not really. I just barely started to read about the budget and what is happening right now and thought that it would have been good if I had not been so busy in the past month but no, I am open and do not have any particular area. Ms. Yukimura: That is fine. We do not expect new Board Members to know exactly what they are going to do but we know that you will be listening, participating, and you will determine those areas. Thank you very much. Mr. Bynum: Joanne, thank you so much for agreeing to be in this position and I think it will be a good testing ground for a later appointment to the Planning Commission because you have that kind of expertise and broad world view that I so much admire. Thank you for all you have done for Kaua`i and the mentoring you provided me, some, believe it or not because you are a model of professionalism that I so much admire. Thank you very much. Ms. Nakamura: Thank you very much for putting your name forward and it sounds like you bring a wealth of experience that the County can benefit from. I know that the Chair has done a very good job meeting with the Cost Control Commission and providing some suggestions on areas that the Commission can pursue because it is a huge organization. I think through this budget process, I would like to try to get all of us around the table to think about giving you some specific areas to focus in on and some suggestions and then you take it from there. But I think we have gone through two and a half weeks of pretty detailed deliberations and so that might give you some clues on where to focus your energy. I just wanted to thank you for putting your name forward and I wanted to thank Paula Morikami and Staff for putting forward two very qualified female applicants. Thank you very much. Mr. Rapozo: Thank you, Joanne. I have seen you a lot at airports and on airplanes and traveling back and forth — you are just a busy person. I do want to start echoing Councilmember Nakamura's comments about the Administration and the Boards & Commissions. Over the last several years the candidates that have come to this Council for Boards & Commissions have just been great and that includes both of you today. It makes our job a lot easier when we have to confirm these appointments. First of all, I disagree with Joanne and Gary about sending you someplace else. No, we got you and we are going to keep you and use you. Offering to send you somewhere else? Oh my gosh, no. The reason is, I believe, the Cost Control Commission is one of the most important Commissions if it is run the way it is supposed to be run. I can remember in 2002 when I got elected for the first time and I was... the orientation they gave me the binder and I started going through the Commissions. I learned that we did not even have a Cost Control Commission because we did not have enough people. I was told back then by the Advisers that Mayor does not like the Cost Control Commission. Not the Cost Control Commissioners, he loves all of you but Mayor's in general because if SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 6 APRIL 24, 2013 you look at the goal, it is to cut. It is very clear and specific and we may disagree because some people believe that you guys look for revenue generation but I look at it differently. This is not revenue, this is a Cost Control Commission. It is very clear — review with the aim of eliminating programs and services available or more efficiently supplied by other governments or organization. That is what the goal is. Ms. Nakashima: Like coordination. Mr. Rapozo: And that is what has not been done by the Cost Control Commission over the last few years because for whatever reason, it has not. The other component to this Commission, Joanne, and you probably know this but I wanted to reemphasize it because I think it is the most... this is what gives you the authority. When the Commission comes up with a recommendation and the Commission decides we want this recommendation to go through, you dictate to the Mayor, you are probably the only Commission that can dictate to the Mayor, "this is what we want to go to the Council." He has no opportunity to say no. He can add comments but then it comes here and we are required by the Charter to get it on the floor as a proposed bill. This is where it gets hashed out with the public comments and so forth. So, I want you to remember that because that is what makes this Commission vital and important to what we do. The last Commissions have come up with some revenue generating proposals, which is fine, that is okay too, I am not going to argue with the County Attorney but I will say the main focus of this Commission is to look at ways we can reduce spending. I will give you an example and I will end with this, we just went through like what Councilmember Nakamura said, two and a half weeks of grueling budget testimony. The Human Resource (HR) Department was up here and we found out that we have an HR Department but we still have Departments doing Personnel functions within their individual Departments. I have asked the Cost Control Commission in the past to look at that and whether or not they are doing it, I do not know but that is an example of duplication of service that I believe the Cost Control Commission should be taking a look at. That is just my opinion, people take it for what is worth but I know that you are that analytical person, I know you are definitely dedicated, no doubt in my mind. I look forward to you being a very good addition to that Commission but I would ask that you consider my concerns and that we focus back on what the Charter really intended this Cost Control Commission to be. Ms. Nakashima: Thank you. Mr. Kagawa: I want to thank you. You have a very impressive resume and as a current DOE Teacher... I started the year you retired. Ms. Nakashima: That is why I do not know you. Mr. Kagawa: That is our connection but like Councilmember Yukimura said, the Mokihana Project was mandated by law and I have seen it grow from 2000 to what it is now. Ms. Nakashima: Thank you. Mr. Kagawa: It is just a tremendous program that if you see it with your own eyes, it really helps kids. So, I want to thank you for all of that. Like Councilmember Rapozo, it is ironic that we have such a great candidate come forward for the Cost Control Commission in you because for the first time in many years our County is broke. We are so broke that we are proposing to raise SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 7 APRIL 24, 2013 property taxes, gas taxes... you name it. From tipping fees, we are considering paying when you throw away rubbish — everything. The most basic way to handle a problem like that is like when you analyze what is happening in your own family, if you are lacking money, you have to cut your costs. I think the County has failed and our State and Federal Government to cut appropriately. Having a great candidate with experience with a great Legislator, Mr. Hooser, I am just so happy that we have you there to bring your experience and hopefully we can make appropriate cuts so that our County can run efficiently. Thank you, Joanne. Ms. Nakashima: Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Joanne, thank you again for stepping forward. I think the Vice Chair mentioned about six months ago I started to make quarterly visits to the Cost Control Commission to convey concerns from the Council body touching on the creation of the HR Department and staffing. My next visit will be one that touches on some critical issues that came up in this discussion about the new approach to road paving, the progress on the HR Department, and certainly some of the concerns that we have with public safety, with life safety schedules especially on our beaches. I feel confident that you will get confirmed today and I feel confident that at my next visit to the Cost Control Commission, I will see you there. Ms. Nakashima: Thank you very much. Chair Furfaro: On that note, thank you very much. ADJOURNMENT. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:01 a.m. Respectfully submitted, RICKY WATANABE County Clerk :dmc