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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015_0702 Liquor APPROVEDCOUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting Open Session Approved as circulated ou 07/02/15 Board /Committee: LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION ACTION Meeting Date I July 2, 2015 Location Mo`ikeha Building, Meeting Room #3 Start of Meeting: 4:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 4:35 p.m. Present Chair Paul Endo; Members: Shirley Akita, Jean Iida, Gerald Also: Liquor Control Staff: Director Gerald Rapozo, Private Director of Human Resources Janine Rapozo Matsunaga, Dane Oda, Pauline Ventura Secretary Cherisse Zaima; Deputy County Attorney Nicholas Courson; Excused Josephine Sokei Approval of the Absent Mr. Matsunaga moved to approve the agenda. Agenda SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Endo called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. with 6 members present, constituting a quorum. Roll Call Director Rapozo called roll, noting 6 members were present. Approval of the Mr. Matsunaga moved to approve the agenda. Agenda Ms. Iida seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. Public Hearing 7- ELEVEN STORES : Application No. 2015 -71 was filed on April 28, 2015 by Seven - Eleven Hawaii, Inc. dba 7- Eleven Stores for a Retail Dealer General license located at 2 -3687 Kaumuali`i Highway, Lawa`i, Kauai, Hawaii. The Commission accepted Application No. 2015 -71 for publication and public hearing on May 7, 2015 and ordered to print notices of public hearing in The Garden Island newspaper on Wednesdays, May 13 & 201 2015 scheduling the public hearing on Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter in Meeting Room #3 of the Lihu`e Civic Center, Moikeha Building, 4444 Rice Street, Lihu`e, Kauai, Hawaii. Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Page 2 Kenneth Hoo, on behalf of the applicant, was present along with Mr. Blake Yokotake, Director of Human Resources. Commissioner Akita asked whether the applicant intends to provide the same type of baked goods that were previously available at Lawa`i Menehune Food Mart such as the manju and sushi, noting many people have expressed a fondness for those specialty items. Mr. Yokotake stated they are planning to reproduce the manju, and though the previous tenants removed all of the kitchen equipment, they are currently researching what they would need to bake some products. They are attempting to re -hire some of the former kitchen employees, especially those that were involved with the production of the manju, so they can Mr. Matsunaga moved to approve Application attempt to make those items available once again. No. 2015 -71. Ms. Akita seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. Minutes of the Minutes of the Meeting of June 25, 2015 Ms. Ventura moved to approve the minutes. Ms. Meeting Akita seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. 1. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: a) INVESTIGATORS' REPORTS b) INCOMING COMMUNICATIONS: (1) From Arrowhead Promotion and Fulfillment Co. (2) From Sweepstakes Consulting (3) From Avid Marketing (4) From Jackson Family Enterprises (5) From Strike & Techel (6) Disturbance Report from Rob's Good Times Grill c) OUTGOING COMMUNICATIONS: (1) To Avid Marketing (2) To Jackson Family Enterprises Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Page 3 d) EMPLOYEES IN LICENSED PREMISES: Managers and Assistant Managers — See Attachment. e) ACTIONS OF THE DIRECTOR: (1) MAKAI GOLF CLUB AT THE ST, REGIS PRINCEVILLE RESORT (2) MERRIMW S (3) DOLPHIN RESTAURANT, FISH MARKET AND SUSHI LOUNGE (4) WRANGLER'S RESTAURANT (5) PRINCESS CRUISE LINES, LTD. (6) NAWILIWILI YACHT CLUB f) INFORMATIONAL MATTERS: Ms. Akita moved to receive Items 1 (a) through (f). Ms. Iida seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. 2. RENEWAL OF LIQUOR LICENSES: See Attachment `B" Ms. Akita moved to approve the renewal of liquor licenses. Ms. Iida seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. 3. a) RENEWAL OF PERMITS: See Attachment "C" Ms. Iida moved to approve the renewal of permits. Mr. Oda seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. 4. CHANGE IN CORPORATE OFFICERS: a) PRINCEVILLE MAKAI GOLF COURSE, LLC Ms. Iida moved to approve the change in b) WAL -MART STORES, INC corporate officers. Mr. Matsunaga seconded the c) LAWAI GENERAL STORE motion. Motion carried 6:0. 5. SPECIAL REQUESTS: KAUAI BEER COMPANY: Request for permanent increase of premise to include the area fronting 4261 Rice Street, per diagram submitted. Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Pate 4 In response to Commissioner Akita, Director Rapozo explained the licensee has a current extension of premise on the sidewalk area fronting his establishment. He is now requesting to extend that area to the sidewalk fronting, and just before the entrance to the neighboring sushi establishment; the licensee owns both buildings. Commissioner Iida asked how the owners of Masa's sushi feels to which Director Rapozo replied he is for it because he does not have a liquor license and feels it will bring business to both establishments; they can order sushi from Masa's, and get a beer from Kauai Beer Company, then enjoy both outside. Commissioner Akita pointed out that Masa's does allow patrons to bring their own beer to the establishment. Director Rapozo further explained that the way the rule is written is that Kauai Beer Company cannot have a portion of their licensed premise connected to an establishment that is not licensed, and since Masa's is not licensed, Kauai Beer cannot extend their premise all the way to Masa's establishment, and must have a barrier between the two areas In response to Commissioner Matsunaga, Director Rapozo explained that Kauai Beer Company owns a portion of the sidewalk that extends eight feet from the building; the remainder is the County easement; they are not using the County's property. Chair Endo stated for clarification that the extended premise they are requesting will be out on the sidewalk area fronting Kauai Beer Company, extending all the way down to just before the entrance to Masa's Sushi, which will be blocked off to designate where Kauai Beer Company's premise ends. Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Pate 5 Commissioner asked if there is a benefit to having the premise extend on the Nawiliwili side of Masa's Sushi, noting that patrons will have to walk around Masa's to get to the additional Kauai Beer area. Director Rapozo stated that patrons will have their drinks served to them, and this extension increases their square footage to serve alcohol. Ms. Akita moved to approve the request for permanent increase of premise. Ms. Ventura seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:1. (Nay: Iida) 6. EXTENSION IN TIME TO EXERCISE LICENSE: a) BALI HAI RESTAURANT: Request for extension in time for a period of 6- months to exercise Application No. 2011 -69 which was approved on May 5, 2011. Shawn Merzbacher, General Manager, was present representing the applicant. Commissioner Akita noted this application was approved back in 2011. Commissioner Oda asked when they plan on opening the restaurant to which Mr. Merzbacher replied they are looking at September for the Happy Talk portion with the Bali Hai portion to follow soon after. Director Rapozo noted in this case the hotel had some disputes with their insurance company, and the applicant had no control over what has transpired. In response to Commissioner Oda, Mr. Merzbacher stated construction is currently in full throttle, and they are expecting to open by September, and they should have the Bali Hai portion of the restaurant open by the end of the year, not foreseeing any other construction setbacks. Commissioner Ventura asked if he felt 6- months would be enough time to Ms. Iida moved to approve the request for a 6- which Mr. Merzbacher stated yes. month extension. Ms. Akita seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Page 6 7. 1 ANNUAL JOB PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF THE DIRECTOR: Director of Human Resources Janine Rapozo was present to provide a briefing to the Commission on the policies and procedures of the annual evaluation process. Ms. Rapozo provided a background on how the evaluations for appointees came about, explaining that in 2007 the Salary Commission included an evaluation process in their Resolution to allow appointees to receive a pay raise. At that time, then - Director of Personnel Services Malcolm Fernandez sent a memo requiring a 30 -day wait prior to any pay raise being effectuated for any appointee that had been evaluated within the last 12- months. As of July 2012, the Human Resources Department was created, and much of the functions that were left to individual departments or to boards and /or commissions moved into HR. One of the things they implemented was to look at all County employees and their anniversary dates, and put them on an evaluation schedule. Prior to that all the Boards and Commissions were handling their directors' evaluations toward the end of the year to coincide with the salary schedule. Currently, HR sends out memorandums to remind all departments of when employee evaluations are due, which includes appointees as well. Ms. Rapozo pointed out that Gerald was hired in August, and a memo was sent in June via the Office of Boards and Commissions to inform them of his annual evaluation. However, this particular commission was already on the old schedule, and an evaluation had already had been completed this past December, which brought up the question of whether or not another one should be done to get back on HR's schedule. Ms. Rapozo noted that it is up to the Commission whether they want to keep the current evaluation they recently completed, or whether they wanted to get back on schedule according to Gerald's hire date. Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Pate 7 Ms. Rapozo pointed out that HR is working on revising the current policies and procedures as well as the evaluation tool based on concerns raised by boards and commissioners that the current tool makes it difficult to evaluate their respective directors. Once that is implemented, HR will provide training on the new format and procedures. Ms. Rapozo also noted that the Salary Commission did propose raises for appointees, which the County Council did not approve, but HR still wants the evaluations done even though there are no pay raises forthcoming. She stated that HR feels it is important that job performance evaluations are done annually, or even throughout the year, so nothing is a surprise. Commissioner Matsunaga asked to clarify that the primary purpose for the evaluation was to allow the Director to receive a salary increase to which Ms. Rapozo replied yes, that is how the Salary Commission resolution is written. Commissioner Akita stated for clarification that it is up to the Commission whether or not they want to do another evaluation to get onto the schedule HR has, but noted that HR is currently in the process of revising the format. Ms. Rapozo replied they are revising the policies and procedures, as well as the tool and guidelines. They hope to implement that before the end of the year. Ms. Rapozo stated the Commission could keep the current evaluation that was done in December, and then wait until next August to do the next one; however, she asked that the Commission send HR something in writing stating they wish to use the scores from the December evaluation.. Chair Endo stated for clarification that the two options before the Commissioner are to either do the evaluation at the end of this year, or wait a year and a half and do one next August. Ms. Rapozo replied yes, noting that the evaluation is also used to establish goals for the appointees, and Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Page 8 suggested the Commission go ahead and work on goals, which will help them evaluate the Director during the next go- around. Commissioner Oda noted some of the problems they encountered was being unable to evaluate the Director properly, and with the talk of having it redone to be more pertinent to what they are evaluating on, he would prefer to wait for the revised process before they do another evaluation. Ms. Rapozo agreed that the current tool is not really meant for a Commission - appointed Director, but she reiterated that part of the evaluation process is working with the Director on what they want to see him accomplish; the Commission may want to set some goals for the Director to evaluate him on come next August. Commissioner Oda asked whether the Commission had an idea of what they wanted to evaluate the Director on, or what kinds of goals they want to set up with him. Chair Endo stated he feels they should wait until the new form comes out to give the Commission a better idea of how best to evaluate the Director. He feels they should use the December evaluation scores for the current year. Attorney Courson stated for clarification that Ms. Rapozo is not saying the Mr. Matsunaga moved that any evaluation of the Commission would need to score the Director again for the year, but is Director be postponed until August 2016, and a suggesting that they begin to work on goals and benchmarks to use for the letter be sent to HR explaining the next evaluation. Commission's wish to use the scores from the most recently completed evaluation. Ms. Iida seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. 8. REQUEST FOR EXTENSION IN TIME TO SUBMIT TAX CLEARANCES FOR RENEWAL OF LIQUOR LICENSES: a) 91h Island Sports Bar b) Joe's on the Green Kauai Liquor Control Commission Open Session July 2, 2015 Pate 9 Submitted by: Cherisse Zaima, Private Secretary (x) Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments See minutes of Reviewed and Approved by: meeting. Paul Endo, Chair c) Pau Hana Grill & Bar d) Sukhothai Cafe Director Rapozo explained these four licensees were having difficulty obtaining their tax clearances, and their applications are pending. They are initially given 30 days, and should they need additional time, they will need Mr. Oda moved to approve the extensions in time. to appear before the Commission. Ms. Iida seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. Adjournment Chair Endo adjourned the meeting at 4:35 p.m. Submitted by: Cherisse Zaima, Private Secretary (x) Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments See minutes of Reviewed and Approved by: meeting. Paul Endo, Chair