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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/09/2014 Special Council Meeting minutes - Interviews SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 9, 2014 The Special Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by Council Chair Jay Furfaro at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Room 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 8:32 a.m., after which the following members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Tim Bynum Honorable Mason K. Chock, Sr. Honorable Gary L. Hooser (present at 8:35 a.m.) Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable Mel Rapozo Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura (present at 8:45 a.m.) Honorable Jay Furfaro (excused at 8:49 a.m.) Chair Furfaro: Aloha and good morning. I would like to call to order the Special Council Meeting posted and noted for today which should start today at 8:30 a.m. There will be a series of interviews on this. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Mr. Chock moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by Mr. Rapozo, and unanimously carried (Mr. Hooser and Ms. Yukimura were not present). Chair Furfaro: I will probably be here for our first interview today, because as noticed yesterday, I will be going over to join Steve on a conference call to our Bond Counsel and I will be there for a period of time. The Vice Chair will then continue the other portion of the Council Meeting today. I would like to make a note that if you can please discuss this, I had received today at 7:53 a.m., a request to take the Town Core Complete Streets as an early request on the agenda based on the fact that they have activities they need to handle in the afternoon. I hope you can consider that. Let me finish my housekeeping items here. Secondly, I know a number of have received testimony regarding the Shoreline Setback. As I said last week, if the Bill is not ready, send it back to Committee. If you feel that there are going to be more than what I said, two additional amendments, send it back to Committee where the work should be done. We all have an opportunity to participate at the Committee level. On that note, I would like to recognize Mr. Kagawa. Do you have a comment? Mr. Kagawa: Thank you Chair, you know I will be leaving at about 12:00 p.m. today for an early lunch as I am going to give blood. I will be back after lunch. Chair Furfaro: Thank you for your blood donation as well. Any other comments? (Mr. Hooser was noted as present in the meeting at 8:35 a.m.) SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 2 APRIL 9, 2014 PUBLIC COMMENT. Pursuant to Council Rule 13(e), members of the public shall be allowed a total of eighteen (18) minutes on a first come, first served basis to speak on any agenda item. Each speaker shall be limited to three (3) minutes at the discretion of the Chair to discuss the agenda item and shall not be allowed additional time to speak during the meeting. This rule is designed to accommodate those who cannot be present throughout the meeting to speak when the agenda items are heard. After the conclusion of the eighteen (18) minutes, other members of the public shall be allowed to speak pursuant to Council Rule 12(e). EDUARDO TOPENIO, JR., Administrative Assistant to the County Clerk: Chair, at this time, there are no registered speakers for the public comment portion. Chair Furfaro: Okay. Let us go to the interviews themselves and start with the Planning Commission appointment and the interview for Mr. Sean Mahoney. INTERVIEWS: PLANNING COMMISSION: • Sean M. Mahoney (Labor) —Term ending 12/31/2016 Chair Furfaro: Good morning Sean. Sean, I would like to suspend the rules and let you introduce yourself and give us all a little background, although we have your resume and your application to the Commission, give you a few moments to tell us about yourself. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. SEAN M. MAHONEY: Thank you, Chair. Chair Furfaro, Vice Chair, Councilmembers, my name is Sean Mahoney. I am presently a Field Representative for the Hawai`i Regional Council of Carpenters. I am a thirty (30) year resident of Kaua`i, and born and raised in Western Massachusetts and come from a labor background. My dad was a charter member of the Firefighters Local 111 in Massachusetts. I was a labor member of molders and foundry worker and jobs in high school I was a member of labor with the paper-makers and since I have come to Kaua`i, I have been involved with the Carpenters. I have been on several Boards and Committees throughout the community, Kauai Workforce Investment Board and a board member for Kaua`i Economic Opportunity. I have served on a task force for the Building Department on the Building Code. I am a member of the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for the Carpenters and I have been active in a lot of community projects on Kaua`i. So that is about it. Thank you. If there are any more questions I would be happy to answer them about background. I was asked to consider if I would like to go on to the Planning Commission and I took a big, deep breath. It is an awesome responsibility, and it is one that I respect a lot. I went to meet with the Planning Director and some of the staff and they briefed me on what takes place. I realize that it is an awesome responsibility. I thought it over and I would be up for the challenge and I put my application in. That is how I arrived at this point here. Chair Furfaro: Thank you for doing that. Paula, if you could just acknowledge with a head nod, the Planning Commission is one of a very few commissions that we have that is actually made of members that include two (2) SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 3 APRIL 9, 2014 environmental members, two (2) business members, two (2) labor members, and one (1) at-large. This would be a labor appointment? Organized labor appointment, okay. Which is in our Charter. Okay, very good. Thank you Sean for your responses. Mr. Bynum, I will give you the floor. Mr. Bynum: Sean, you kind of answered the one question that I had at the end is what was your consideration process? So I just cannot tell you how thrilled I was to see your name in this position on the Planning Commission and your comments about understanding how it is sometimes the eye of the storm and an awesome responsibility. I just want to thank you for your willingness to step up and it is clear that you have taken that seriously. A standard thing I usually say to all Planning Commissioners is welcome and thank you for your courage. Also that increasingly, my view of the Planning Commission over the years is increasingly they have taken their broader responsibilities like managing the Director, and evaluating the Director, and giving really serious consideration and input in a public forum on Planning Bills that come through. So I guess my question is did the Director talk to you about those aspects of the responsibilities, having equal weight to the regulatory responsibilities that kind of dominate the agenda? Mr. Mahoney: He did. We discussed quite a bit in the short amount of time that we had, and he also brought up that this is a growing responsibility that I am going to have to be able to understand. But he did mention that and I have got an idea, but there is so much more that I am going to have to learn and so much more that...he asked me...I am a reader. I read everything. I read all the bulletin boards down there this morning and I am up for the challenge, but he did bring that up to answer your question and I am aware of that. Mr. Bynum: Thank you very much. The way the Council is structured right now, I am the Chair of Planning, and so I will be anxious to speak with you and help with that steep learning curve that you know you have to do. It is an exciting time at Planning, because they are working and bringing to conclusion big plans such as Important Agricultural Lands, the development plans in the KOloa community and here in Lihu`e, and things that we have been anticipating for a lot of years. So it is a time to come on the Commission where a lot of really exciting things are happening both on the regulatory side as the economy heats up a little bit and on these bigger big-picture items that you get to contribute to. Thank you very much. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Mr. Hooser. Mr. Hooser: Thank you for being willing to serve, Sean. We have known each other for many, many years, and I used to brag to people that I was one of the few people to get the endorsement of both the Carpenter's Union and the Sierra Club because when you look at trees sometimes you see different things and I think in large part that was a result of you and your position over here and you realize the benefits of both sides. I will be supporting you, obviously...not obviously, but I will be supporting your nomination to the Planning Commission. Please...and not surprised of the thought that you have given to this because it is an enormous responsibility and take an incredible amount of time. Most of the activity, I believe, is relatively small in nature in terms of economic impacts and dealing with issues, important issues, but there will be an occasion...I cannot remember the last time when the Planning Commission makes major SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 4 APRIL 9, 2014 recommendations that may affect whether or not a hotel gets built... or whether or not one thousand (1,000) homes get built. In those situations it may impact whether or not four hundred (400) carpenters get jobs or not and in your position you will be placed in a position of having to make a decision with weighing the best interests of the community at-large and weighing the interest of the four hundred (400) carpenters whom you represent. I do not know what the answer to that is, but it is going to be a decision. It is going to be a tough spot. In some situations if you were from a private business you might recuse yourself. If you were a hotel developer and you were on there and there was that kind of thing, but if you would just speak to that. (Ms. Yukimura was noted as present in the meeting at 8:45 a.m.) Mr. Mahoney: This position when I was asked to consider was the labor position and not a representative for the Carpenter's Union. Although I work for the Hawai`i Regional Council, there is so much before any project gets anywhere from Federal Law, State Law, General Plan, Comprehensive Zoning Ordinances (CZOs), recommendations from the Planning Department, and I think that I would be able to judge every project. I would not take this position to be a lobbyist for the Carpenter's Union. That is not what was asked of me and that is not what I intend to do, but every project that comes up would get due consideration. The merits of it and if there is a seat that is on the labor table, for the Commission, I think that I am as qualified as anybody on Kaua`i to represent labor. That is what I would do. Mr. Hooser: I believe that is the case also. Mr. Mahoney: Excuse me, when the time comes down to making a decision I am sure that people try to influence decisions, they try to...I am sure that everybody in the room gets people to try to lobby, but when it come down to what has to be done, it will be my decision based on the merits of each individual case that comes before us. That is the best way I can answer that. Mr. Hooser: I appreciate the answer. I felt it was a question that had to be asked. Mr. Mahoney: I understand. Mr. Hooser: Everybody who sits on that Commission has a position or bias or history and I understand that. Again, I am very happy that you have been appointed to this position and look forward to working with you in the future. Thank you. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you very much. Chair Furfaro: Sean, I want to thank you for asking the earlier questions, answering the earlier questions of the two (2) gentlemen. Again, I want to say that we have guidelines about our plan for our island and it is laid out in the General Plan and at time we are close to launching a new General Plan in a 10-year cycle or 12-year cycle now based on technical information we have gotten, the reviewing of certain project requirements. We are working on bills here for setback on coastlines and we have the individual development plans. But most of the guidance and I share this with you as someone who was a Planning Commissioner. I was the at-large commissioner for three (3) years and I think you find a lot of the citizens' desires very well-laid out for guidance in the General Plan SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 5 APRIL 9, 2014 book. I have left that copy for you there. I have known you over the years and I know you take your time here on Kaua`i very serious and you have good stewardship for the island and you are a representative of labor, not the Carpenter's Union, but labor, which is in the Charter. I am going to have to leave to attend a conference call with the Finance Director, but I want to thank you for stepping forward, for answering those two questions earlier and I will be voting to support your appointment. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you, Chair. Chair Furfaro: I will at this point turn over the meeting to Councilmember Chock as I am leaving for the appointment with the Finance Director. Thank you for stepping forward. (Chair Furfaro was noted as excused from the meeting at 8:49 a.m.) Mr. Mahoney: Thank you, Chair. Chair Furfaro: Mr. Chock, will you take over the meeting? (Council Chair Furfaro, the presiding officer, relinquished Chairmanship to Mr. Chock.) Mr. Chock: Thank you, Chair. Any more questions for Mr. Mahoney? Mr. Kagawa: Sean, I just want to thank you for serving and I want to ask you why do you want to do this? I am just kidding. Mr. Mahoney: Someone asked me if I hate myself that much for wanting to serve on the Planning Commission. No, I think it is a challenge and it is a big challenge and it is an awesome responsibility and sometimes in your life when these opportunities come, that somebody has to step up and try to do it and do it right. I think I am up for that challenge. Mr. Kagawa: Thank you, Sean. I was kidding, the Planning Commission, I watch those meetings and sometimes I think they should be paid for the time that they spend and it is important. From the short period that I have known you, I respect you a lot and I know that you will do a good job in adding to that body of seven (7) and putting your input and thank you for serving. Good luck. I hope you can find it more enjoyable than displeasure. Thank you. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you very much. Ms. Yukimura: First of all my apologies for being late. From 7:30 a.m. this morning, I have been talking to a Senator and the Housing Agency about a Bill that is pending, where they want to take our housing credits away from us. So that is why I was late. Let us see, so there is one reason I am sorry that you are being appointed for this position and that is because you have told me that you will not be able to serve on the Affordable Housing Task Force any longer, and I just want to acknowledge your work on that Task Force, which has been very, very helpful, in terms of getting a big-picture on housing. So thank you for that, Sean. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 6 APRIL 9, 2014 Mr. Mahoney: Thank you for allowing me to serve on it. I learned a lot also. Ms. Yukimura: Then I got in on the tail-end of your answer to Councilmember Hooser's question, and I am presuming that you have...you said that you will not make it a criteria for your vote as to whether a project is going to be unionized or not. Mr. Mahoney: Well, when projects come up, I am not setting the agenda on what comes up. I am going face the agenda when it comes up, and so I am not going to look at some hypothetical...when things come up, projects come up, they are going to be done on a sequential basis. The merits of all...there is a lot of criteria that has to be met before it even gets to the Council and nobody is getting a free ride. Everything will be done sequentially and in order to meet the criteria established with the General Plan. I am going to be...I am not going to be a negative person up there. I am not going to be an advocate for any. I am trying to serve as a Commissioner and take the agenda that comes. Ms. Yukimura: And use the criteria? Mr. Mahoney: And use my best judgment on there. As I said, when times to come to make the decision it will be me who will make the decision and not anybody who will be influencing me, can you do this for that? Ms. Yukimura: Your employer understands this? Mr. Mahoney: Of course my employer understands. Anybody who knows me would understand this. Ms. Yukimura: Well, you know I have no doubts about your integrity. But sometimes conflict of interest does not turn on integrity. You know what I mean? Mr. Mahoney: I have counterparts that serve on the Maui Planning Commission, Chairman of the Maui Planning Commission. Hilo on the Big Island and some of the Maui Planning Commissioners for many years. They were highly respected. All of us are not there as lobbyists. You make your decisions and our boss has nothing to do with our decisions. Ms. Yukimura: Okay, because I do come from a time...that is how long I have been at this...where I believe it was a criteria for a union representative's vote. So you know, which I do not believe was correct. Mr. Mahoney: I understand, but this...why I decided to take this or even consider...for Council's consideration was because it was for labor. That was the criteria mentioned to me. This is labor; not a union, but labor that you represent. So that is what I am going to base my... Ms. Yukimura: Sean, every project will bring jobs. So are you going to vote for every project? Mr. Mahoney: It depends on the project. I am not going to...it has got to meet...I am going to say it again, the criteria. If it is zoned, all of the criteria, plus there is a lot of things that I will have to look at, the community SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 7 APRIL 9, 2014 input, the laws that we have to follow, just go step-by-step and it is not going to be about what Sean Mahoney thinks is best for him and where he works. Ms. Yukimura: Well, you know some of the issues it will not be zoning. You are going to be determining whether or not to zone, yes? Right? You understand that? Mr. Mahoney: I understand. Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Mr. Mahoney: I can tell you this much— I will act as responsible as best I can to act responsibly to whatever comes before me on that Commission and that would be my pledge. Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. Mr. Mahoney: You are welcome. Mr. Chock: Councilmember Rapozo. Mr. Rapozo: Thank you and thank you for being here and thank you for volunteering. I mean that seat gets hot at times, especially for the Planning Commission, which I have often said is probably even more impacting to the community than this body here. The Planning Commission gets to make some very, very important decisions and I have known you long enough to know of your integrity. So I do not have a problem. The Charter requires two (2) labor people, two (2) people representing labor and, in fact, your job is to represent labor, much like the Charter says we have to have two (2) environmental candidates and I could make the same argument that Councilmember Yukimura has when the environmentalist candidate comes up and say is your decision going to be swayed by or influenced by the Sierra Club or Earthjustice? Your voice needs to be heard and that is why it is that way. We need the balance, so even if you folks...hypothetically say you folks want to do a development and maybe there is some benefit to the Carpenters, you cannot make the decision with two votes. There are seven (7) people on the Commission. So I think we need to have two (2) labor. We need to have two (2) environmentalists on there and we need that balance and at the end of the day, democracy prevails and the majority rules. We have all differing opinions on what should and should not be done. I trust your integrity, your knowledge, and your history on the island and your love for the island, because we have had many discussions you and I regarding the development and the growth. I just agree with your philosophy and appreciate your willingness to serve. I honestly would not serve on the Planning Commission. I would not. It is just too much heat and we are going through an issue with the dairy and I am sure you are all getting the E-mails like how dare you? It is not us, we do not have anything to do with the dairy. We get the E-mails. It is Planning, so you have got a lot coming for the next term. I just want to say thank you for serving. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you. Mr. Chock: So I know we have about fifteen (15) minutes per candidate here. So I understand there is a lot of support for you, Mr. Mahoney, and definitely you have the experience and the intention that you speak of to represent the Planning Commission well. So I wanted to just mention that I will be supporting you as well. Councilmember Yukimura. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 8 APRIL 9, 2014 Ms. Yukimura: There is one thing that I cannot let go what Councilmember Rapozo said, things turn on one vote as we know here. That determines the future of this island. The fact that you are going to be one of seven votes does not mean that it is irrelevant. Your vote will count tremendously about the future. I have no questions about your integrity, but I do worry about your employment and the pressures that you will come under. Again it is not about integrity. It is just about...I just want everyone to understand this is a really important issue. Key decisions will turn on one vote. Every vote is really important. Mr. Chock: Well taken. Thank you. Mr. Kagawa: When Councilmember Rapozo said what he did, I did not interpret it, I guess, to that point that Councilmember Yukimura feels. All he is saying is that the environmentalist can have the same...I guess, impact. I think you will do a great job. So do not misconstrue this as getting scolding here at the Council. You are going to get the votes and we thank you for serving. You are going to do a good job. Do what is best in your heart. That is all you can do as a public servant. Thank you. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you. Ms. Yukimura: I want to confirm that was not a scolding. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you. But I can handle pressure. I have had some in my time. Ms. Yukimura: I believe you can. Mr. Mahoney: I will do my best, and I promise to work towards that. Mr. Chock: We appreciate your service unless there another question. Mr. Hooser: Just one more. Mr. Chock: Mr. Hooser. Mr. Hooser: Again, I want to thank you for being willing to serve and I have complete confidence you will do a great job. We have a lot of discussion today and the land use component is critical of course, but also I believe the projects that come forward— the job component is a very important one, so I am very confident that your voice being there will make sure that the jobs that are created will be good-paying jobs. If you err on that side that is great with me, quite frankly, and the jobs will go to local residents. I am confident that perspective that labor brings— that you bring to whatever projects are approved down the road will be a valuable addition to the whole process. Thank you. Mr. Mahoney: Thank you very much. Mr. Chock: Thank you so much for your questions. We will be voting on this later in the morning. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 9 APRIL 9, 2014 Mr. Mahoney: Thank you very much. Mr. Chock: I am sure you will get the support that you need. Thank you for your service. Good, we are going to move to the Civil Service Commission, Elizabeth Hahn. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION: • Elizabeth Hahn—Term ending 12/31/2016 Mr. Chock: Good morning, Elizabeth. ELIZABETH HAHN: Good morning, Chairman, Councilmembers. I am really happy to be here today. My name is Elizabeth Hahn and I live in Waimea. I am open to your questions. Mr. Chock: Would you like to share more about your interests and what you brought you here? Ms. Hahn: I was a long time Rotatarian and past member of the West Kaua`i Rotary and past President. Their motto is "service over self." When I was approached to serve on this commission, my initial response was oh my gosh, I am really not qualified, you know? I do not know anything about it. But when I moved here in 1969, I did not know anything about anything. I could not even speak pidgin and my first real job was as a waitress at Kaua`i Resort. My head waitress was Filipina and I had never been a waitress before either. I had to learn what, "Liz, go in the kitchen and get me the the kine" meant. I had no clue what she was trying to tell me and I did. I was successful as a waitress at Kaua`i Resort. Later on I became an art dealer. I did that for seventeen (17) years. I have experience working with Kaua`i Nursery and Landscaping after we had the hurricane and the art galleries were closed. We had to rebuild the island so I helped with that to keep track of where the workers were because it was all insurance work. I have always been on the leading edge of something. I like technology and that is where I met Mel Rapozo for the first time. I was a bulletin board system operator for Hawai`i Online before the worldwide web was created. I was sitting in the chair as a technician, which I have no training for by the way, it was just my interest. When the worldwide web was created then a few months later I was in Chicago helping Kaua`i rebuild after the Hurricane Iwa at the Flower and Garden Show with the very first website selling cut flowers to rebuild the economy of Kaua`i. So you have in front of you my resume and my history, but I think what I want to share and the reason why I stepped forward to apply for this position is that I believe that unity is the most important thing for Kauai. I believe that everything can be accomplished when people work together and when we are called upon to do something, especially for the island. I believe that we need to respond in the affirmative, so that is my basic philosophy. Mr. Chock: Thank you for sharing your work history, as well as your resume. That is exemplary as well with your experience in the Knudsen Trust and I think you will add a lot to the Civil Service Commission. I will open up for questions. Councilmembers? Councilmember Rapozo? Mr. Rapozo: Thank you, Liz, for being here. I am so surprised that you remember...because I remember for some reason that is what I remember about you. I know America and the world thinks that Al Gore created the internet, but in my mind it was you for Kaua`i and I mean that because it was the bulletin board. It was the dialup system that you sat at and there was a game on that system and I cannot remember the game, but it was basically you built your SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 10 APRIL 9, 2014 bulletin board and that was my interest and started my interest in technology and the worldwide web. But that is what...whenever I see you I think about it...because you could hear the screeching sound of whenever your message went up and it takes a few minutes for the message to come back, but that was you and it seemed like you were always online. Whenever I went online, you were there. Over the years seeing you at many functions and you have been involved with so many things, I think as far as qualifications, Civil Service Commission in my mind is to bring fairness and equity to the job field to our workers and employees. I think people would agree, especially around this table, we have got a lot to work do with that. I think merit...and it is not just here in Kaua`i, but in government in general, the rewards by merit sometimes do not occur. I think a lot of times it is just the fact that you are here thirty (30) years does not mean you deserve a promotion or a transfer. It should be based on merit. That is what your Commission is supposed to be fighting for; for the fairness and equity and I just hope you can bring that level of professionalism, which I know you have to that Commission and try to restore the merit-based system into at least the County. Let us be the model of that. Let us not say how it is done everywhere else. I do not care about that. I care about our workers here being treated fairly and equitably and it falls directly into the hands of this Commission. I have no doubt that you will be appointed. Ms. Hahn: Can I make a comment to that? Mr. Rapozo: Sure. Ms. Hahn: Part of the Commission is also to work within understanding the limitations, understanding what the County's needs and resources are, and to find the balance. It is not just for one. Again, I say it is the unity. It is us working together. I believe that economy benefits as a byproduct of people who take their work seriously. That to whom work becomes their way of worshipping. In other words, it is their expression of their own integrity and it is their expression of doing a good job for good job's sake. I agree that that needs to be something that we promote, because economic success is a byproduct, I believe. When everybody is doing the best that they can, it is an automatic byproduct. When there is disunity and when there is interest that divides people, then it is difficult to find the kind of prosperity that is a whole prosperity and not just in terms of money, but in terms of people being happy, to be working, you know? Maybe that is saying too much. Mr. Chock: Any other questions, Councilmembers? Councilmember Bynum. Mr. Bynum: Just Liz, thank you so much. I met you at a different part of your journey, but I cannot think of an interaction we have had where you have not shared a unique perspective that helped me. So anyone who gets to serve with you is going to be blessed by that experience. I just want to thank you a lot. The Mayor has made a few appointments that I was not comfortable with out of the hundreds he has made, but the list today shows what he has done with real plumb people is get the right people to commit to the right commissions at a very high percentage of the time. Today's list is like wow, look he found the perfect people, all four of them. Spot-on. Thank you. Mr. Chock: Thank you. Councilmember? Mr. Kagawa: Thank you, Elizabeth. This weekend, for me, has been quite brutal. I have seen a lot of west side people that I know and have SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 11 APRIL 9, 2014 complaints and feel that the west side is being neglected with projects not being done. With your appointment today, I can say that the west side is represented and having you on the Commission, part of the duties is to advise the Mayor and Director of Personnel Services on problems concerning personnel. So you might have west side people that can come to you and let you know there are problems. Of course, as you said, to make sure things are fair and equitable. Thank you for serving. I like your humor. I think a lot of the time on boards, everybody takes it really serious and once in a while you can bring some of your jokes there. Thank you. I will be supporting your nomination. Ms. Hahn: Thank you. Mr. Chock: Any other questions? Ms. Yukimura: You represent yourself so well just now as you speak and your broadness of vision and your commitment to unity, even as you have to deal with some very conflicted issues is going to make you a really good candidate for serving. You are aware that you will be involved in a very important decision in the selection of the head of Human Resources? Ms. Hahn: Yes and that whole system has changed. Ms. Yukimura: Right. Ms. Hahn: So this is brand-new and I am grateful to be brought on board now because I do not have history of the...I can see it with the kind of a fresh...for what it is. Ms. Yukimura: Right. You will be part of the team that starts this whole new thing. Ms. Hahn: The implementation, yes. Ms. Yukimura: And you will be supporting and evaluating whoever is brought in to do this very important work, so I am delighted. Ms. Hahn: Thank you. Mr. Hooser: The questions have all been asked already, but I did want to thank you. I really appreciate what you are bringing to the table and to the Commission. We have known each other for a long, long time also and you just are so centered, it seems like and calm. I just thank you for your willingness and look forward to the service that you bring to the County. Ms. Hahn: Thank you, Gary. Mr. Chock: I just wanted to add on to the importance of the work that you will be bringing in terms of our current financial forecast and how the work that the new department that you will be working with, well, I think in my mind, be very helpful in terms of cost-savings and in terms of building the capacity of our employees, our workers, to move with commitment and the kind of happiness that you are talking about within the work that they do. I appreciate what you bring to the Civil Service Commission and to our island. Ms. Hahn: Thank you. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 12 APRIL 9, 2014 LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION: • Jean A. Iida —Term ending 12/31/2016 Mr. Chock: Jean Iida, if you could come up for the Liquor Control Commission. JEAN A. IIDA: Good morning everybody. Good morning, my name is Jean Iida and I have lived on Kaua`i for fifty-one (51) years and I have been active in several Filipino organizations. I have had several chairmanships of the organizations. Also, I want you to know that I was first approached just about a week after my husband passed away and I said "no." Then I changed my mind and I thought it was my duty as a citizen of Kaua`i to serve. It was a privilege and an honor for me to accept. Mr. Chock: Well, thank you for being here and for reconsidering and thank you for taking care of my insurance for so many years. I appreciate you and your husband. We will open up for questions. Mr. Rapozo: Thank you and thank you, Jean for being here and our condolences for your loss. Your husband was what I will call "a game- changer" for the island in all that he did and I think everybody shares that. Like Mason said, thank you for reconsidering. I have often asked Jean to run for public office over the years and she tells me what everybody else says, "Does it look like I have stupid on my forehead?" How are we supposed to take that? Does that mean we are stupid? Seriously, what are you saying, really? But anyway, Jean, obviously I have known you for a long time, and the fact that you were approached to sit on a commission says a lot of what others think of you, so I really do not have a question. I just wanted to thank you for your decision to serve. The Liquor Control Commission, that is one commission that I think goes unrecognized or what do you call it? What the heck is that cliche? "A thankless job," but you play such a vital role in public safety and all I ask is when you look at these violations, when you start looking at the issues that affect our kids especially, that we take that seriously. Sometimes you have to spank a little harder to get the message across. The fines and the revocations of licenses, in my opinion, that is the only way business owners are going to get the message. When you take profits way. It is a serious problem as you know, so I just ask that of you. Ms. Iida: I am a stickler about serving underage children liquor and in fact when I see any friends let the underage kids drink, I get very upset. I do not think it is right. Even my own children I have never served them liquor at home and yet, when I went to somebody's house, I found out she was serving my daughter liquor. I was not happy about that. I am against underage drinking. Mr. Hooser: Jean, I want to thank you and it feels really good to see you sitting here in front of us for this position, and to be involved in our community. I mainly want to thank you and after hearing what you say, I would not want to be on the other end of your admonishment and we need that kind of no-nonsense, especially in this position. Thank you so much. Mr. Bynum: Mrs. Iida, thank you very much. One of the longest relationships that I have other than my marriage is with State Farm. But you are a perfect nominee for this commission that have so many fine people on it and I am surprised that Councilmember Rapozo did not tell you about the SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 13 APRIL 9, 2014 opportunity to work with the great new Director over there. Thank you for all the service that you have provided. I know, you are always present. I very much admire that. Ms. Iida: Thank you. Ms. Yukimura: Jean, it has been said already, but you are perfect for the job because you do not let anybody get away with anything. Ms. Iida: No, I do not. Ms. Yukimura: Bravo and we really thank you for your willingness to serve. We really do acknowledge Ron and his contributions to the community. Mr. Kagawa: I just want to say what JoAnn just said, sorry about your husband. He was a great man for our community. Thank you for reconsidering and serving and I know you will do a good job. Thank you. Ms. Iida: Thank you so much. Mr. Chock: Thank you. BOARD OF ETHICS: • Ryan M. de la Pena —Term ending 12/31/2016 Mr. Chock: Next for today is the Board of Ethics, Mr. Ryan de la Pena. RYAN M. DE LA PENA: Good morning, Councilmembers. Mr. Chock: If you could please introduce yourself for the record and share more about yourself. Mr. de la Pena: Sure. My name is Ryan de la Pena. I grew up in Wailua Homesteads and went to college in Indiana and the first brutal winter made me appreciate home and I knew I wanted to come back. For the past twenty (20) years I have worked in the Defense Industry mostly at PMRF as a contractor and on the civil service side about five years ago. I live on the west side now. For six (6) years, I served on the Civil Service Commission and Paula knows that for every meeting I bring my Starbucks cup, but yes, I want to continue serving the community and the County. Mr. Chock: Thank you so much. I really appreciate seeing you here and you have contributed so much over the years already at the Base and the work that you have done there. I remember in 4th or 5th grade when science projects were due, Mr. de la Pena was on it and always helped guide me and I do not think I would have gotten through 5th grade if it was not for his support. Applying this to your work in the community, I thank you and I will ask for questions as well. Mr. Kagawa: Well, it is two for four from the west side. So thank you, Ryan. Thank you for your previous service and your family is living proof that our public schools can survive, because your parents really have set the SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 14 APRIL 9, 2014 bar as far as success with all of the children and you guys are role models in the community as well. So strong support for you, Ryan and again, your family, just tremendous accomplishments of your family. I remember taking...going back to the first-ever math contest in 1984 your brother, your younger brother? Mr. de la Pena: My older brother. Mr. Kagawa: Kapa'a smoked us because of your brother because he was answering every question. Yes, thank you, I will be supporting you and you can represent the west side. Mr. Hooser: Actually, I think I see you as "eastside." Mr. de la Pena: I am both. Mr. Hooser: We have seen you grow up and we obviously know your family well and you just bring a whole lot of personal integrity to the table and represent the entire island. I am confident that you will do that well. The Ethics Commission is sometimes kind of a sticky place to work and so some of those decisions will be more difficult than others. I trust that you will give it the thought and consideration with your life experience and family values, if you would, to make those decisions. Thank you very much for being willing to serve. Thank you. Ms. Yukimura: Ryan, thank you for your willingness to serve. First off, for the six (6) years you served on the Civil Service Commission— and thank you for your work with science projects and the kids because your reputation came to me, even though I was not associated with schools. Project-based learning is such an effective way of learning and to have the kind of adult support that you gave your kids, who were winners everywhere was really notable. The Ethics...as Councilmember Hooser says the Ethics Board is a difficult place to be at times. Conflict of interest is not always a clear thing. As I have interacted with the Ethics Commission I have felt there has been a need for some better understanding of how conflicts of interests works. So my question...well, first...last thing I saw recently an article about a competition, like moot court competition, and they have a competition in ethics. I think it was one of the colleges here in Honolulu won nationally and I have been thinking it would be good for our Ethics Board to be briefed by either the ethics professor and I did not know it was actually a body of learning, but it may be. I guess I am asking whether you would be open to that kind of learning on the part of the Board of Ethics? Mr. de la Pena: Most definitely. Learning does not stop when you are out of school. It continues throughout life. If you stop learning, that is not a good thing. So I welcome any kind of education and training for our Board and for anyone else in the community. Ms. Yukimura: Then also you know right now in order to ask for a ruling from the Board of Ethics, it has to be in the form of a complaint. I believe that is right...yes, Paula is nodding her head. Mr. de la Pena: Yes. Ms. Yukimura: I am thinking that the Ethics Board might want to develop another form where it is not a complaint. It is not like the person asking for ruling has to say I believe there is a conflict of interest, but instead it SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 15 APRIL 9, 2014 could be a format like I am wondering whether there is a conflict of interest. Right now; the person coming forth has to bring all of the data. The Board seems to rely only on what is brought forth, but there seems to be needed a more investigatory arm of the Board so that they can do some research and fact-finding, and not have that burden just on the person saying that there feels like there may be a conflict, and could you give us a ruling? So I am just sharing that with you, because I think that is an arena that the Ethics Board may wish to look at. Mr. de la Pena: That is a good idea to find other avenues of initiating issues. Ms. Yukimura: I think it will help the Board make its decisions so it is not relying only on one party bringing some evidence. Thank you very much. Have fun. You will get all kinds of issues coming before you and they are the things that again make this County run well or not. Thank you. Mr. Chock: Mr. de la Pena, you have your hands full already. Mr. de la Pena: I have homework. Mr. Chock: The approach is important in terms of inquiry rather than the.... Councilmember Bynum? Mr. Bynum: Ryan, thank you very much for being here and thank you for your service on the Civil Service Commission. Again I have already said all of these nominations today are spot-on. Thank you for your willingness to serve. This is a commission that deals with very weighty matters at times. It has a history of needing outside Special Counsel to deal with some of the questions asked of them. The Commission has a history of having outstanding members, one of whom you are replacing in Mr. Hubbard, who served six (6) years; two (2) full-terms. He is kind of the corporate memory there and I would encourage you to spend some time with Mr. Hubbard. I do not know how we do succession here because a lot of things that the Commission may deal with are confidential and personnel-related. Mr. de la Pena: I would not mind contacting Mark Hubbard. I went to MBA school with him and we go way back. Mr. Bynum: He should be "volunteer of the century" for the commitment he makes to our community. He is a great resource for you to get grounded there, I think. It poses an interesting question that I will follow-up with Paula later, when there are weighted matters, does this person leave and then you come on and are you are never able to discuss those confidentiality matters? It is an interesting side question. Thank you very much for serving on this Commission. I would agree, to look at whatever mechanism to approach the Commission. My interactions have been in response to claims that there existed a conflict, right? Sometimes maybe as a Councilmember, I would like advice about proactive advice; the kind of things that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) does for Attorneys. It is a great Commission and thank you for your service. Mr. Chock: Any further questions? SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 16 APRIL 9, 2014 Mr. Rapozo: Just really quick wanted to thank you for your service and it is nice to see you back. I was trying to remember what commission you were on. Mr. de la Pena: Civil Service. Mr. Rapozo: Yes, I appreciate your service and volunteering to serve on Ethics because it is a challenging commission. Thank you very much and good luck. Mr. de la Pena: Thanks. Mr. Chock: Thank you, Ryan, again I think your years on the Civil Service Commission will lend well to the Board of Ethics and you have my support. Thank you. Mr. de la Pena: Thank you, everyone. BUILDING BOARD OF APPEALS: • Patrick D. Lizama (Fire Safety) — Term ending 12/31/2016 Mr. Chock: Last, but not least we have Mr. Pat Lizama, former firefighter and here to discuss his role on the Board of Appeals. Welcome Mr. Lizama. PATRICK D. LIZAMA: Good morning. I have been to Kapa'a School. Patrick Lizama, from Kapa`a. I graduated from Kapa'a High School. I have been in the Lihu`e Plantation as a certified welder for six (6) years and I went into the Fire Department for almost thirty (30) years. I am retired now about twenty (20) something years. I was asked to be on the Board and since I was in public service for a long time, I figured I will donate something back to the community. Mr. Chock: Thank you very much. I would just like to say that I think the kind of commonsense and clarity that you bring would add a lot to any group and I am very supportive of your service today. Any questions, Councilmembers? Mr. Hooser: I just thank you for being willing to serve, Mr. Lizama and I think commonsense and clarity goes a long way in this County and we need as much of it as we can get. Thank you very much. Mr. Rapozo: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for being here. I am trying to do the math in my head— thirty (30) years in the Fire Department, retired twenty (20) years—you must have started very young. Mr. Lizama: I did. Mr. Rapozo: Thank you for your service there at the Fire Department. That is a long time and thank you for agreeing to serve the Board of Appeals, again another important commission. A lot of people look up to that commission for fairness and equity and I think that we all have to strive for and I have no doubt that will you serve well. I wanted to say thank you for the service to the community for quite a long time and your future service. Thank you. Mr. Chock: Any other questions? SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 17 APRIL 9, 2014 Mr. Bynum: I just want to say thank you, Mr. Lizama. Again, perfect selection for this commission and thank you for your service. Ms. Yukimura: Pat, knowing you and Rhonda for a long time and glad to see you here, even though it is not a criteria for approving you, I want to say that I like your distinguished look. Mr. Lizama: I do not have my wallet. Mr. Chock: Any other questions? Mr. Kagawa: Pat, I wanted to thank you for volunteering to serve and giving back to the community. I think your experience fits the...the shoe fits perfectly. You have the experience. You have saved people's lives and I think the Fire Code is to protect the people of Kaua`i and fire prevention is very important and I am sure will you make the right decisions for the people. Thank you. Mr. Chock: Thank you again and I look forward to working with you as well. I think those are all of our interviews for today for today's Special Council Meeting and I will be adjourning this meeting, but I just wanted to mention that we have a certificate. Councilmember Rapozo will be presenting today for the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in a few minutes. This Special Council Meeting is adjourned. ADJOURNMENT. There being no further business, the Special Council Meeting adjourned at 9:34 a.m. Respectfull s mitted, AP- DUA• OP NI►, J R. Administrative Assi, nt to ounty Clerk :cy