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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018_0827_CRC Agenda_Packet_CANCELLEDCarol Suzawa Members: Chair Marissa Sandblom Galen Nakamura Virginia Kapali Ricky Watanabe Jan TenBruggencate Patrick Stack Vice Chair COUNTY OF KAUA'I CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION NOTICE OF MEETING AND AGENDA Monday, August 20, 2 August 27, 2018 3:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2 A/B 4444 Rice Street, LThu'e, HI 96766 CALL TO ORDER COMMUNICATIONS APPROVAL OF MINUTES Open Session Minutes of July 23, 2018 BUSINESS CRC 2018-03 Review and Approval of Voter Education Material for Publication ANNOUNCEMENTS Next Meeting: Next Scheduled meeting is September 24, 2018, 3:00 p.m., in the Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B ADJOURNMENT EXECUTIVE SESSION Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes §92-7(a), the Commission may, when deemed necessary, hold an executive session on any agenda item without written public notice if the executive session was not anticipated in advance. Any such executive session shall be held pursuant to HRS §92-4 and shall be limited to those items described in HRS §92-5(a). Discussions held in Executive Session are closed to the public. Cc: Deputy County Attorney Adam Roversi PUBLIC COMMENTS and TESTIMONY Persons wishing to offer comments are encouraged to submit written testimony at least 24-hours prior to the meeting indicating: An Equal Opportunity Employer 1. Your name and if applicable, your position/title and organization you are representing; 2. The agenda item that you are providing comments on; and 3. Whether you will be testifying in person or submitting written comments only; and 4. If you are unable to submit your testimony at least 24 hours prior to the meeting, please provide 10 copies of your written testimony at the meeting clearly indicating the name of the testifier; and 5. If testimony is based on a proposed Charter amendment, list the applicable Charter provision. While every effort will be made to copy, organize, and collate all testimony received, materials received on the day of the meeting or improperly identified may be distributed to the members after the meeting is concluded. The Charter Review Commission rules limit the length of time allocated to persons wishing to present verbal testimony to five (5) minutes. A speaker's time may be limited to three (3) minutes if, in the discretion of the chairperson or presiding member, such limitation is necessary to accommodate all persons desiring to address the Commission at the meeting. Send written testimony to: Charter Review Commission Attn: Lani Agoot Office of Boards and Commissions 4444 Rice Street, Suite 150 L-ihu`e, HI 96766 E-mail: lagoot(a,kauai. gov Phone: (808) 241-4917 Fax: (808) 241-5127 SPECIAL ASSISTANCE If you need an ASL Interpreter, materials in an alternate format, or other auxiliary aid support, or an interpreter for a language other than English, please contact Lani Agoot at (808) 241-4917 or lagoot6d*auai.gov at least seven calendar days prior to the meeting. Charter Review Commission — August 27, 2018 2 1 P a g e * :! 14 COUNTY OF KAUAI 'tZ j, z1z:4 Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Board/Commission: CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION Meeting Date I July 23, 2018 Location Mo`ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2 A/B Start of Meeting: 3:02 p.m. I End of Meeting: 4:15 p.m. Present Chair Carol Suzawa. Vice Chair Jan TenBruggencate. Members: Marissa Sandblom, Virginia Kapali, and Ricky Watanabe. Also: Deputy County Attorney Sinclair Salas-Ferguson. Boards & Commissions Office Staff. Administrator Nicholas R. Courson and Administrative Specialist Lani Agoot. Excused Galen Nakamura and Patrick Stack Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Suzawa called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. with five members present which constituted a quorum. Communications There were no communications. Approval of Open Session Minutes of May 21, 2018 Ms. Kapali moved to Minutes approve the Open Session Minutes of May 21, 2018, as circulated. Mr. Watanabe seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0. Business CRC 2018-01 Review and discussion of Voter Education explaining the County Charter Amendments Proposed in the 2018 General Election Chair Suzawa stated that there were two suggested options (A and B) with regard to the Voter Education piece before the Commission for their review, and asked Administrator Nicholas Courson to clarify the difference between the two options and the document in their packet. Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. Courson clarified that the document in their packet was the Ramseyer version of the proposed Charter Amendments that would be posted on the County's website, and options A and B were for the Voter Education piece to be published once approved by the Commission. He explained that after meeting with the Chair and Vice Chair, he concluded that it was their desire that the Voter Education piece be simple; stating only the ballot question, the purpose, and the background without the Ramseyer potion. Mr. Courson further clarified that option A's heading contained the legal language pertaining to the proposed Charter Amendments, and option B's heading did not. Mr. TenBruggencate stated that he felt the legal notice could have the legal language, and the Voter Education piece should be simple and easy to read, like option B. He asked whether or not Council would oversee how their proposed amendment would read to which Mr. Courson stated that his office would leave that up to them. He added that historically, the Office of Boards and Commissions paid for the Voter Education piece and Council paid for the ballots. Mr. Watanabe stated that he preferred option A because of the legal aspects of the proposed amendments. Chair Suzawa suggested that because voters will be looking specifically for the ballot questions, the questions could be "boxed" so they would stand out more to which Mr. Courson said he thought that could be done. Mr. TenBruggencate asked how the Voter Education piece would be printed to which Mr. Courson clarified that the general rule of procurement would apply, which requires his office to get three bids and go with cheapest bid. He added that in 2016 the Voter Education piece was published in two media outlets and one of those outlets produced the stand-alone piece that was distributed to various locations throughout the island. Previous to that, the Voter Education piece was published in one media outlet, and a printing company was procured to produce the stand-alone piece for distribution. Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. TenBruggencate suggested that the Voter Education piece include information that would direct the public to the County's website so they could see the Ramseyer version of the proposed Charter Amendments. Mr. Courson pointed out that that information was included in both option A and B, as well as on the back of each ballot envelope. Ms. Kapali stated that the heading on option A and B seemed redundant; however, she preferred option B and suggested using bold font for the ballot questions, and removing the proposed Charter Amendment titles in bold/underlined font. Mr. Salas-Ferguson said that Ms. Kapali's point regarding the heading was well taken and agreed the ballot question, the purpose, and the background are the necessary elements for the public. Mr. TenBruggencate asked the Commission if there were any objections to removing the proposed Charter Amendment titles and keeping only the ballot question to which there was none. Ms. Sandblom asked if there was a legal requirement regarding the structure of the Voter Education piece to which Mr. Courson said he was not aware of a legal requirement. He clarified that option A and B were composed using templates from past elections. Mr. Courson suggested if the Commission decided to instruct his office to remove the proposed Charter Amendment titles, that Deputy County Attorney Adam Roversi be consulted as to whether there is a purpose for the language. Ms. Sandblom suggested using option A, removing the bold/underlined proposed Charter Amendment titles, and to bold/underline the questions. Mr. TenBruggencate moved to amend option A by removing the bold/underlined proposed Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Charter Amendment titles, and bold/underline/capitalize the ballot questions. Ms. Kapali seconded the motion. Ms. Kapali moved to amend the motion to include removing the bold font from the two legal sections. Mr. TenBruggencate seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0. With no further discussion, Chair Suzawa called for the vote on the main motion as amended. Motion carried 5:0. CRC 2018-02 Discussion of outreach for public education to include distribution points and media outlets Chair Suzawa asked Mr. Courson if the Voter Education piece would be included in the ballot envelopes to which he replied no; the only information regarding the proposed Charter Amendments would be the website information printed on the back of the envelopes. He said if the envelopes included the Voter Education piece, it could potentially raise the cost of postage, which was a concern raised by the Elections Division. Mr. TenBruggencate said if the Voter Education piece is well -distributed, then it is not necessary to include it in the ballot envelopes. Mr. Courson said in 2016 the Voter Education piece was published in The Garden Island Newspaper and the For Kauai magazine, and the cost was more than what his office budgeted Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION for publication; however, if the Commission wanted to publish in two media outlets, he would find the money to make that happen. Mr. TenBruggencate asked if bids would be obtained from The Garden Island, MidWeek, and For Kauai to which Mr. Courson said yes. Ms. Kapali asked about social media such as Facebook to which Mr. Courson said he will coordinate with the County's Public Information Officer to make sure it is on the County's social media. He added that the Voter Education piece will also be on the Charter Review Commission's webpage, as well as the Elections Division's webpage. The Commission discussed the timeline for receiving Council's proposed Charter Amendment and the publication date, and had concerns about there not being enough time to get the Voter Education piece out to the public in a timely fashion. Mr. Courson informed the Commission that the timeline his office and the County Clerk's office agreed to is that the Voter Education piece has to be published not less than 30 days prior to the election, which would be October 5; the language has to be finalized at least 30 days prior to October 5t', which is September P. He said based on the Commission's discussion, he would contact the County Clerk to try and get their amendment language as soon as possible, and his office would make sure the Voter Education piece would be available to the public by October P. Chair Suzawa asked when the general election absentee ballots would be mailed out because the public would need the Voter Education piece before they received their ballot. Mr. Courson replied that according to his notes it should be around September 21 S`; federal guidelines suggest 30 to 45 days prior to the general election. Chair Suzawa said the October 5 h date would be too late for those with absentee ballots, stating that there is a large absentee ballot population on Kauai. She asked if the Voter Education piece could be ready before the public receives their absentee ballots to which Mr. Courson said if Council's portion is ready, absolutely. He added that doing that may drive where the piece can be published; for example, in a monthly magazine. Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. Courson clarified that the timeline was based on past elections; however, he did see why the Commission would want the Voter Education piece to be published concurrent with voters receiving their absentee ballots. He said if the piece is finalized by the end of August and is published in For Kauai, it could run in September or October depending on what the Commission wanted. Mr. TenBruggencate said it would also allow more time for the distribution of the Voter Education piece to the locations listed on the distribution list, adding that the overseas ballots go out 45 days prior to the general election, which is the middle of September, and the Hawaii ballots will go out 20-25 days before the election, which is approximately October 10''. Mr. Courson stated that he misread his notes and based on those dates, the original timeline is sufficient. Mr. TenBruggencate said that he felt the original timeline was still cutting it too close if Council didn't get their amendment to the Office of Boards and Commissions before September 5th Ms. Sandblom asked whether or not Council was close to having their language finalized to which Mr. TenBruggencate said they still needed a second reading on their resolution for their proposed Charter Amendment. Mr. Courson said he would find out what the drop -dead dates are to publish in the various media outlets which will help clarify the timeline, and did agree that the current timeline is probably too tight. Mr. Watanabe said he just spoke with Council Services and the resolution for the proposed Charter Amendment was approved. Mr. Courson stated that it was his goal to effectuate the Commission's wishes and to stay within his budget; however, if the Commission wanted to, for example, publish in two media outlets, Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION he would find the money to make that happen. He clarified that the Charter only requires publication at least once in a generally circulated newspaper. Ms. Sandblom asked if the Voter Education language would be the same regardless of where it gets published to which Mr. TenBruggencate explained that the legal notice would be a summary which would be separate from the Voter Education piece published in one of the media outlets. Mr. Courson stated that the terms "legal notice" and "Voter Education" were functionally identical in 2016. He said the amended version of option A is the language he plans on publishing, regardless of which media outlet is used. Mr. TenBruggencate stated that his recollection was that in 2016, when the Commission made non -substantive changes to the Charter, they didn't want to print the entire Charter because it would have been cost prohibitive and so they got permission to publish a summary version. Ms. Agoot shared the newspaper clipping from the 2016 general election with Mr. TenBruggencate, explaining that the Voter Education piece was published in The Garden Island Newspaper's legal section, thereby labeling it a "legal notice." She said it was the same language that was published in the For Kauai magazine and the stand-alone printed and distributed islandwide. Ms. Sandblom said she recalled there were community outreach meetings and wanted to know if that was something that happened in addition to the distribution list. Mr. Courson clarified that it was the Commission's prerogative with regard to community outreach; however, his office would set up time with Ho`ike, which historically entailed an interview with the Chair and Vice Chair, as well as help coordinate any additional forms of community outreach the Commission wanted. Ms. Sandblom suggested adding the Contractors Association to the distribution list, and remove Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 8 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION the KIUC Currents Magazine due to their publication deadlines. Mr. TenBruggencate said he felt the Commission should be proactive and offer to be available to meet with any agency that would like a brief explanation of the proposed Charter Amendments. Mr. Courson asked if Mr. TenBruggencate's intent is to reach out to the various organizations listed on the distribution list to see if they would like a brief presentation to which Mr. TenBruggencate clarified that he wouldn't necessarily ask, but offer in case they are interested. Ms. Sandblom asked how many stand-alone copies would be printed to which Mr. Courson said approximately 4,500. Chair Suzawa asked how many people voted on the 2016 Charter Amendments to which Mr. Courson said there were approximately 22,000 votes. With no further discussion, Chair Suzawa moved to the next agenda item. Announcements Next Meeting: Monday, August 20, 2018, 3:00 p.m., in the Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2 A/B Adjournment Mr. TenBruggencate moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:15 p.m. Mr. Watanabe seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0. Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Lani Agoot, Administrative Assistant Carol Suzawa, Chair Charter Review Commission Open Session July 23, 2018 Page 9 () Approved as circulated. () Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting. Amendments to The Charter of the County of Kauai November 6, 2018 General Election Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes §50-11 and Article XXIV, Section 24.03, of The Charter of the County of Kauai, the Kauai Charter Review Commission is publishing the following Proposed Amendments to The Charter of the County of Kauai, which the Commission has approved for inclusion on the 2018 general election ballot. 1. SHALL THE CHARTER BE AMENDED BY REPEALING ARTICLE IX PUBLIC DEFENDER, AS THIS FUNCTION IS ALREADY PROVIDED BY THE STATE? Purpose: The Public Defender section of the Kauai County Charter was rendered obsolete when the State Constitution in 1968 mandated that the State provide counsel to indigent defendants and when the State Legislature in 1971 established the State Office of the Public Defender. This amendment would therefore remove an outdated and unnecessary article from the Charter. Background: In 1971 the State established an Office of the Public Defender and a statewide system for the appointment of legal counsel as required under the law. As such, the County Council has never found it necessary to establish a County Public Defender by ordinance. 2. Purpose: The purpose of this amendment is to remove the article empowering the Council to establish an electric power authority by ordinance, since the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has competently managed and operated Kaua`i's electrical power system, and delivered electrical power to Kauai in an economically viable manner, for more than a decade and a half. Background: Article XXX was approved by the voters in the 2002 general election. The County Council proposed Article XXX as a Charter amendment in response to the proposed sale of Kauai Electric Company to the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC). Article XXX empowered the County to intercede in the event that the sale of Kauai Electric to KIUC collapsed, or if KIUC had problems in providing electrical services. In September of 2002, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the sale of Kauai Electric to KIUC. Since 2002, KIUC, Hawai`i's only member owned electrical cooperative, has managed and operated the electrical power system on Kauai. 3. SHALL ARTICLE XIV, PLANNING DEPARTMENT, SECTIONS 14 01, 14.03, 14.12, 14.13, AND 14.14 BE AMENDED BY REMOVING ALL REFERENCES TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS? Purpose: The County has been unable to find volunteers willing to sit on the Zoning Board of Appeals due to the significant time commitment required. Accordingly, this amendment would eliminate the Zoning Board of Appeals. Backgrround: The Zoning Board of Appeals was created in the 2016 general election with the expectation that it would reduce or eliminate the expense of hiring hearings officers to conduct appeals from decisions of the Planning Department. However, the Zoning Board of Appeals has proven difficult to enact. It would require seven volunteers to work approximately 16-25 hours weekly and the County has been unable to recruit capable volunteers willing to make such a time commitment. Thus, the Zoning Board of Appeals has never been seated. 4. SHALL ARTICLE XIX, FINANCIAL PROCEDURES, SECTION 19 15(C) BE AMENDED TO PERMIT THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND TO INCLUDE IMPROVEMENTS? Purpose: Currently the Public Access, Open Space, Natural Resources Preservation Fund may only be used for the acquisition of land or property entitlements for conservation purposes. This amendment would expand the permissible uses of the fund to include paying for improvements to lands or entitlements acquired by the fund, and to improving existing public beach accesses. Background: The Public Access, Open Space, Natural Resources Preservation Fund was established by the voters in 2002 to fund the acquisition of land and public easements for land conservation purposes. Conservation purposes include acquisitions for beach and mountain public accesses, the preservation of historic and culturally important areas, the protection of significant habitat or ecosystem, protecting watersheds, conserving land to reduce natural hazards, and improving access to public lands for the disabled. It is the duty of the Open Space Commission to provide an annual recommendation to the County Council regarding lands or entitlements proposed for acquisition. Since the acquisition of land or public easements may require significant expense to improve the acquired land or easement, the Council has in the past refrained from acquiring properties identified by the Open Space Commission due to the expected financial burden of paying for such improvements. This amendment would allow the fund to also be used to improve lands or easements acquired with the fund, and to improve existing public beach accesses, but would not authorize use of the fund proceeds for regular maintenance. 5. SHALL ARTICLE XXIX, SALARY COMMISSION, SECTIONS 29.01 AND 29.03 BE AMENDED TO GIVE THE SALARY COMMISSION AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH THE MAXIMUM SALARIES OF ALL ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS, AND TO ADD THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AS EX-OFFICIO, NON VOTING MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION? Purpose: This amendment eliminates the County Council's authority to reject all or part of the Salary Commission's annual salary resolution thereby giving the Commission sole authority to set the maximum salaries of elected and appointed officials. It also makes the Director of Human Resources and the Director of Finance advisory members of the Salary Commission. Background: Under the current charter, the Salary Commission is charged with submitting an annual resolution to the Mayor and Council establishing the maximum salaries of all elected and appointed county officers. The Charter, however, permits the Mayor or relevant department head to set the actual salary of any appointee at a figure lower than the maximum established by the Salary Commission, and authorizes the County Council to reject the Salary Commission's entire resolution or any part of it. This permits the County Council to pick and choose which appointees in the executive branch of government may receive salary adjustments. This amendment would eliminate the County Council's veto power over the Salary Commission's annual resolution, while retaining the right of the Mayor and department heads to set actual salaries at less than the maximum. Any change in County Council salaries would still only take effect in the next Council term. This amendment would also add the Director of Human Resources and the Director of Finance to the existing seven -member Salary Commission as ex-officio, non -voting members to provide information on subject -matter and cost matters. Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes §50-11 and Article XXIV, Section 24.02, of The Charter of the County of Kauai, the Kauai County Council is publishing the following Proposed Amendment to The Charter of the County of Kauai, which the County Council has approved for inclusion on the 2018 general election ballot. 1. SHALL THE TERM LIMIT OF OFFICE FOR COUNCILMEMBERS BE REMOVED? Purpose: This amendment eliminates the term limitation for the office of Councilmember. Background: In the 2006 general election, the electorate approved a charter amendment establishing term limits for the office of Councilmember of no more than four consecutive two year terms. To review all proposed changes to the Charter, please go to www.kauai.gov\Charter or contact the Office of Boards and Commissions at 241-4917 or the Elections Division at 241-4800 or 241-4924 (V/TRS), Monday -Friday, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.