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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018_1207_BOE OP Minutes DRAFTCOUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Special Meeting OPEN SESSION MAIPT 101 A j 0110, ,�pgrjgu& Board/Commission: I BOARD OF ETHICS Meeting Date December 7, 2018 Location Mo`ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B Start of Meeting: 1:00 p.m. I End of Meeting: 1:21 p.m. Present Chair Michael Curtis. Vice Chair Maureen Tabura (entered at 1:03 p.m). Secretary Mia Shiraishi. Members: Susan Burriss, Dean Toyofuku, and Ryan de la Pena. Also: Office of the County Attorney: First Deputy County Attorney (former Administrator of Boards and Commissions) Nicholas R. Courson and Deputy County Attorney Mark Bradbury. Boards & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Darcie Agaran. Excused Mary Tudela Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Curtis called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. with five members present which constituted a quorum. Approval of Open Session Minutes of October 19, 2018 Minutes Hearing no changes, corrections, or additions, Chair Curtis entertained a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. de la Pena moved to approve the Open Session minutes of October 19, 2018, as circulated. Ms. Burriss seconded the motion. Motion carried 4:0:1 (Abstention - Ms. Shiraishi). Communication There was no communication. Request for an Request for an AdvisoryOpinion from Ellen Ching regarding her appointment as the Administrator of Boards and Commissions Advisory Opinion Board of Ethics — Special Meeting Open Session December 7, 2018 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Ellen Ching thanked for the Board for convening a Special Meeting. She noted that she submitted a letter dated November 23, 2018, disclosing her reasons for her request, and that she was open to any questions from the Board. Ms. Tabura entered the meeting at 1: 03 p.m. Chair Curtis stated he understood there was a potential conflict of interest with Ms. Ching's husband, Mr. Belles, representing several clients before various boards and commissions. He asked if Ms. Ching was capable of administering the Boards and Commissions without a conflict of interest and recusing herself if there was one to which Ms. Ching replied, "Absolutely." Ms. Shiraishi asked, for clarification, if Ms. Ching's function as the Administrator was not to influence any board or commission members as to how they vote or decide, and that her function would be administrative and operational to which Ms. Ching replied yes. Hearing no further questions, Chair Curtis entertained a motion. Mr. de la Pena moved to find no conflict of interest. Ms. Burriss seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. Disclosures 1. Donald G. Kolenda — Board of Review 2. Felicia E. Cowden — County Council 3. Luke A. Evslin — County Council 4. Ellen M. Ching — Administrator of Boards and Commissions Chair Curtis noted that Mr. Kolenda listed "Carol" as his spouse and assumed that her last name is "Kolenda" as well. He asked if that presumption could be made. Ms. Burriss didn't think they could and suggested that they do a conditional approval. Board of Ethics — Special Meeting Open Session December 7, 2018 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. de la Pena noted that Ms. Ching's disclosure didn't include her new position's income. Chair Curtis stated that she wasn't approved for it yet and that she will have 30 days to update her disclosure. Chair Curtis entertained a motion to receive Donald Kolenda's disclosure statement as complete, subject to the confirmation that his spouse's name is "Carol Kolenda." Ms. Burriss moved to accept Disclosure 1 as complete, subject to the confirmation that his spouse's name is "Carol Kolenda." Ms. Tabura seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. Chair Curtis entertained a motion to approve Disclosures 2, 3, and 4 for Felicia Cowden, Luke Evslin, and Ellen Ching, respectively, as complete. Mr. de la Pena moved to accept Disclosures 2, 3, and 4 as complete. Mr. Toyofaku seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0. Business BOE 2018-17 Explicit recommendation on the steps to be taken at the Charter level and the administrative level to improve the existingcounWyide disclosure requirement coupled with a fine schedule for non-compliance First Deputy County Attorney and former Administrator of Boards and Commissions Nicholas Courson reiterated that he felt an ordinance was the easiest way to implement a fine schedule, and that it was consistent with what the other jurisdictions have done. He explained that they would need a sponsoring councilmember, which should be easy if the work was done prior to it being sent to Council. Mr. Courson stated that the Board could ask its new counsel, Deputy County Attorney Maryann Sasaki, to draft the proposed bill for the Board's consideration. Once the Board agrees with the proposal, then it could be submitted to Council for their consideration. Chair Curtis asked the Board how they wanted to move forward. Board of Ethics — Special Meeting Open Session December 7, 2018 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. de la Pena pointed out that there was a suggested fine schedule included in their meeting packet. Ms. Burriss moved to adopt the recommended fine schedule. Mr. de la Pena seconded the motion. Discussion: Instead of saying "first class mail," Ms. Shiraishi suggested to revise it to say "certified restricted delivery" so that they could obtain confirmation that the person received the notification. Ms. Shiraishi moved to amend the fine schedule to change "first class mail" to "certified restricted delivery." Ms. Tabura seconded the motion. Discussion: Ms. Burriss noted that she had a problem with certified mail on the first go -around as there is a lot of admin and costs involved. Ms. Shiraishi felt that it was important to be informed that the person received the notification and the date they received it for tracking purposes since the penalty would be assessed after the loth day. Mr. Toyofuku asked who the responsible entity to monitor the fines was. Mr. Courson stated that with the disclosure requirements being triggered upon material change, it will be hard to be proactive. He added that the fine schedule was more of a reactive thing when it's brought to the Board's attention that someone did not update their disclosure. Mr. Toyofuku asked if the disclosure requirement could be changed to which Mr. Courson replied yes, but that it would entail a charter amendment, so it was not as easily done. However, the easy path in that situation would be to approach the Charter Review Commission for a possible amendment on the 2020 ballot. Board of Ethics — Special Meeting Open Session December 7, 2018 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Tabura noted that it would be voted on by the public, so there was no guarantee that the amendment would pass. Chair Curtis requested for a list of the positions and appointees responsible for submitting a disclosure statement, as well as the notification that a new disclosure is required within 30 days of any change in the items required to be disclosed, so that the rules and penalties are spelled out for everyone. Hearing no further discussion, Chair Curtis called for the vote on the amendment. Motion carried 6:0. Chair Curtis called for the vote on the main motion. Motion carried 6:0. Executive There was no Executive Session. Session Announcements Next Meeting: Friday, January 18, 2019 — 1:00 p.m., Mo`ikeha Building, Liquor Conference Room 3 Adjournment With no objections, Chair Curtis adjourned the meeting at 1:21 p.m. Submitted by: Darcie Agaran, Staff Support Clerk () Approved as circulated. () Approved with amendments. See minutes of Reviewed and Approved by: meeting. Michael Curtis, Chair