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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/12/2017 Council minutes COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 12, 2017 The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by Council Chair Mel Rapozo at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 8:37 a.m., after which the following Members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Arthur Brun Honorable Mason K. Chock Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro Honorable Derek S.K. Kawakami Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Mel Rapozo APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Councilmember Kagawa moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Just for the public's information, we are going to take an Executive Session at 9:00 a.m. because our attorney is also in trial at court. We are going to try and get rid of that in half an hour, so if it goes beyond 9:30 a.m., we have to release our Special Counsel and come back into general session and finish up the Executive Session at the end of the calendar. Next item, please. MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council: November 16, 2016 Council Meeting November 16, 2016 Public Hearing re: Resolution No. 2016-60, Bill No. 2639, and Bill No. 2640 December 1, 2016 Inaugural Meeting Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to approve the Minutes as circulated, seconded by Councilmember Brun, and unanimously carried. JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: Chair, the next item is an interview for the Board of Review. This is for Russell Wong for a term ending December 31, 2019. INTERVIEW: BOARD OF REVIEW: • Russell M. Wong —Term ending 12/31/2019 COUNCIL MEETING 2 JANUARY 12, 2017 Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Mr. Wong. It was not that long ago when you were here, so I am sure you remember the routine. Just spend the first few minutes to give us an overview about yourself. This is for the Board of Review. Mr. Furfaro explained to me that Mr. Wong was on the Charter Review Commission, which has sunset, so that commission is no longer in place until we put a new one in place. So Mr. Wong, having served less than six (6) months in that term, was asked to serve in the Board of Review. That is why he is here today. Mr. Wong. RUSSELL M. WONG: First of all, I am honored that Mr. Furfaro would ask me to serve on another board, having completed the Charter Review Commission. I do think it is important, as a member of the community, to participate in your community in some way so I enjoy the opportunity to serve. A little bit about myself, I am the Chief Operating Officer of Aloha Auto Group. We have the Kia dealership statewide and the Harley-Davidson dealership here in Kaua`i and the Harley-Davidson dealership in Kona. I love Kaua`i and love living here. I do commute often to O`ahu for work. Prior to my time with Aloha Auto Group, I have been in the car business since 2000 at the dealership level. Prior to 2000, I was in the banking business. I worked with Bank of Hawai`i and also with Ford Credit prior to that. I guess that is a real brief summary of my background. Are there questions? Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Any questions? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you, Russell. I was impressed with your interview the first time and I am happy that you are electing to serve on this Commission, as it is very important. We have had several recent complaints about people's assessments and it is not a small difference; it is a big difference, a couple hundred thousand dollars difference. This one complaint came from an employee that previously worked there, so he knows the system. My question basically is on what side of the assessment do you see yourself sitting? I think the market values for Kaua`i are just crazy. What people will pay, in my view, is not necessarily what the properties are worth nowadays, but we are getting an influx of a lot of rich people and they have the moneys to, I feel at times, overpay by a lot. What that does is throws the assessments, to me, all out of whack. What I am looking for is people that will sit on the Board of Review and really scrutinize it, not just take the word of the Real Property Tax Division. When somebody's assessments jump up two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) in one (1) year, I would hope that our Board of Review is going to be on a conservative end, because I feel like the Real Property Assessment Office wants the higher assessment—more tax money for them. I think what I am looking for is fairness, what is the fair for the resident? Just because their neighbors sold for an overpriced sum on that property, does that mean that everybody else has to pay way more? I am wondering where you sit. Do you think you are going to go in and basically take the word of the Real Property Tax Division or are we going to have somebody like you take charge and think about the fairness part, about the taxpayer part, about the two hundred thousand dollar ($200,000)jump in one (1) year part? Mr. Wong: Anytime someone approaches any kind of an appointed position with an agenda, it is probably the wrong approach. You want to COUNCIL MEETING 3 JANUARY 12, 2017 be somebody that is fair and reasonable. You listen to what is being presented and you analyze if the situation is a one-time event that caused this challenge. If you look at the minutes of the Charter Review Commission, I think what you will find about me and something I have learned from my work background is that you have to be open to hear points of view and analyze them and be fair. I think that is what you are saying. If you come with a specific agenda to any commission, sometimes you are not listening to all sides, which that would be wrong for anybody serving on any board. Councilmember Kagawa: Yes. Just to follow-up, I think assessors are relying on the appraised value. "Appraised value" is what the market will pay, but it does not mean that it is actually what it is truly worth. I will give you an example—I just talked to a friend in Lihu`e who bought his house for three hundred ten thousand dollars ($310,000) twelve (12) years ago. The roof is ready to change and his value now is five hundred fifty thousand dollars ($550,000). The house is twelve (12) years older and the roof needs to be changed, but yet it is worth two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) more today than twelve (12) years ago. That is just the change in the market, but is that fair to the homeowners? How do we balance fairness in the property values? Mr. Wong: I think values of anything are based on supply and demand. The challenge that we face is that generally the demand for homes here is greater than what is available, so prices continue to rise over time and it becomes a policy issue after that. If the taxes go out of control then that is the policymakers to determine what rates should be associated with those values. I would just look at the facts. If it is one (1) property, and I am speaking hypothetically now, if it is one (1) property that was something that was ridiculous where somebody overpaid for, you can see that in some of the analysis. I probably would not be somebody that would, say, if property values in general are rising, that I would ignore that. That would then be up to you folks. I know there are multiple rates available for homeowners and residents for investment properties for transient use for resort. The challenge, obviously for the Council, becomes, well then you have to modify the rates. If the prices are going up, you have to modify the rates and vote on that. To answer your question directly, I do not think an appointed commission member should be in that policy section. I should be looking at the facts and try to judge fairly. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: I think Councilmember Kagawa talks about a constant issue we hear from the public that sometimes the facts are the issues, and that is not your kuleana. We are supposed to provide a fair and equitable system and it is not. I think that is pretty clear. If the assessments are unfair, what we do with the rate creates unfairness again. It just is allocated differently, but the fact remains that somebody is going to be paying more than they should and somebody is going to be paying less than they should. I think that is something us, as policymakers, have to try to figure out. That is a tough nut to crack here on this island. Any other questions? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: My point was that I feel passionate about this because the person that wrote to us had years of experience in the Real COUNCIL MEETING 4 JANUARY 12, 2017 Property Tax Division and he has no faith in the Board of Review. He said that they just rubberstamped and listened to what the Real Property Tax Office wanted and he said that there is no sense in having a Board of Review. That was where my lines of questioning came from. I just hope that we can always look to improve. I mean a public complaint is not always one hundred percent (100%) accurate, but to say you have "no faith" and that it is just a "rubberstamp" concerns me. Thank you. Mr. Wong: If you look at the minutes of the Charter Review Commission, there is something that I had no problem questioning or saying, "This maybe does not make sense to me," and listen to the facts and maybe it ends up making sense. But to answer your question directly, if it does not make sense, I have no problem asking the question to say, "Hey, explain it further." I do not think I am, in my career, ever been a rubberstamp kind of a guy. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: I want to thank you for your willingness to serve on this Board of Review and for your service on the Charter Review Commission, where I did have the opportunity to watch the deliberations. I was very impressed with your willingness to ask questions and to vote independently based on what you determined were the facts. I have no problem in approving your appointment or confirming your appointment. I just want to say that your answer to Councilmember Kagawa just confirms my support of you because I think we need your kind of thinking where you do inquiry first, rather than starting with conclusions. Have you lived on O`ahu for most of your life until you moved here? Mr. Wong: Actually, I first moved to Kaua`i in December of 2007. I do have a rental unit that I have on O`ahu because I commute there frequently. I live on Kawaihau Road in Kapa`a, but purchased a property in Pikake and trying to get building permits, running into some difficulty getting those building permits. Councilmember Yukimura: We will put you on the Building Review Committee afterwards. Mr. Wong: I hope to start construction on my home here so that I can move from Kawaihau down to my home here in Lihu`e and hope to have Christmas in Lihu`e. That is my goal. Councilmember Yukimura: That is a good goal. Can you share a little bit about your educational background? Mr. Wong: I graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1979 and got my Bachelors of Business Economics and Quantitative Methods from the University of Hawai`i. I then went to the University of Missouri, Kansas City, which they call the "Block School of Business" and got my Master's Degree in Finance there. When I was with the Bank of Hawai`i, I was fortunate enough that they sent me to Consumer Banking School, which was a three-year corresponding course where you have a week there and I graduated with a degree in Consumer Banking from the University of Virginia. That is the extent of my educational experience. COUNCIL MEETING 5 JANUARY 12, 2017 Councilmember Yukimura: That is a very impressive background and I think will be very useful in your work on the Board of Review, as it was on the Charter Review Commission. Thank you very much. Council Chair Rapozo: Any other questions? If not, thank you very much. Mr. Wong: I just wanted to say one thing—my grandson was in tee-ball and I really appreciate all of you folks, because down in Waimea, I got to see all of your names on all of the fields and I appreciate what you folks do to support the youth. It is a really good thing. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. With that, can we have the next item, please? Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Chair, the next item is on the Consent Calendar. We do have a registered speaker, who would like to speak on an item on the Consent Calendar. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay, for which item? Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: This is C 2017-24. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. I entertain a motion to receive items C 2017-20, C 2017-21, C 2017-22, C 2017-23, and C 2017-25. CONSENT CALENDAR: C 2017-20 Communication (11/18/2016) from the Mayor, transmitting for Council consideration and confirmation, the following Mayoral appointments to various Boards and Commissions for the County of Kaua`i: a. Civil Service Commission • Vonnell F. Ramos – Term ending 12/31/2019 b. Cost Control Commission • Preston I. S. Chong–Term ending 12/31/2019 C 2017-21 Communication (11/30/2016) from the Mayor, transmitting for Council consideration and confirmation, Mayoral appointee Maryanne W. Kusaka to the Liquor Control Commission – Term ending 12/31/2019. C 2017-22 Communication (12/16/2016) from Councilmember Brun, providing written disclosure of a possible conflict of interest and recusal regarding Bill No. 2643, Repealing Article 23 of Chapter 22, Relating to Pesticides and Genetically Modified Organisms, as he is employed by Syngenta Seeds on Kaua`i. COUNCIL MEETING 6 JANUARY 12, 2017 C 2017-23 Communication (12/19/2016) from the Director of Finance, transmitting for Council information, the Schedule of Fund Balances for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2016, pursuant to Section 19.14 of the Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2017-25 Communication (12/28/2016) from the Housing Director, transmitting for Council consideration, a Resolution Amending Resolution No. 2016-53, Approving The Lima Ola Workforce Housing Project Pursuant To Section 201H-38, Hawai`i Revised Statutes, to clarify and reference the proper Tax Map Key (TMK) for the project, which is now TMK (4) 2-1-001:054 and was modified to reflect the TMK assigned to the parcel after the subdivision of the parcel. Councilmember Yukimura moved to receive C 2017-20, C 2017-21, C 2017-22, C 2017-23, and C 2017-25 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Kagawa. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to receive C 2017-20, C 2017-21, C 2017-22, C 2017-23 and C 2017-25 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Can we have C 2017-24, please? C 2017-24 Communication (12/28/2016) from the Mayor, submitting his veto of Bill No. 2635, Draft 2, Relating to the Wailua Golf Course. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: The registered speaker is Glenn Mickens. Council Chair Rapozo: Mayor, were you going to speak on the communication or when we actually lay the veto on the table? Now? Councilmember Yukimura: Do we need a motion? Council Chair Rapozo: Did we get a motion to receive? Councilmember Yukimura: Is this to lay the veto on the table? Council Chair Rapozo: No, this is the communication. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, got it. Councilmember Kagawa moved to receive C 2017-24 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. With that, I will suspend the rules. Mayor, you may come up. COUNCIL MEETING 7 JANUARY 12, 2017 There being no objections, the rules were suspended. BERNARD P. CARVALHO, JR., Mayor: Good morning, Councilmembers. Aloha Chair Rapozo and Members of the Council. I am here to discuss my veto of Bill No. 2635, Draft 2, which would allow the Wailua Golf Course restaurant concessionaire to serve and sell liquor on our golf course. First, I want to apologize sincerely to all of you folks that our Administration's position was not clear. It was never my intent to not be clear. Again, it was never our intent to be vague or misleading at all and I do agree that we could have done a better job in delivering the message. I do feel very strongly about my position with this legislation and the reasons why I cannot support it. Before I get into the reasons, I would like to acknowledge all of you as Councilmembers, who voted in support of the Bill. I do understand and appreciate your intent to help...all of us are trying to help the golf course be better. That is the bottom-line, as far as I am concerned, and we are all trying to do what we can to support the golf course and operations in however we can do it. I am encouraged and grateful for your support. But as with all well-intended initiatives, we must also consider the unintended consequences of the decisions we make. From a management perspective, there are legal implications that come with allowing the sale and consumption of alcohol throughout the course, which has been at the forefront. As owners of this course, we, the County, could be held potentially liable for any risks—I talked about that—our potential risk and costs associated with assuming risk; risk in general, number one. Second, it would make it necessary for the County of additional oversight, additional management, additional positions, and all of that to ensure golfers of legal age are consuming alcohol. This will result in the hiring of additional staff, and we talked about that; we did, administratively. I wanted to reiterate my gratitude to the Council for your willingness to support our concessionaire. Again, I think we all want the same result as far as offering this golf course to our local people and our visitors and have them have a wonderful experience, but at the same time, taking the responsibility that we work together to ensure that it is a safe place and that it offers a business opportunity, as well as recreation. Thank you. That is kind of my delivery to you. Again, I really apologize for that because that is not how we should be working. We should be upfront, "This is what I think, this is where we are going," and it was not. With that, I just wanted to share a little bit on where I am coming from administratively. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Before we entertain questions, like I said earlier, we have Special Counsel here and he needs to leave at 9:30 a.m. Councilmembers, just understand that if you want to continue this dialogue now, it is going to take away time from our Special Counsel, because he needs to leave at 9:30 a.m., as he has a trial in progress at the Courthouse. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Just a process question, but I would say that we should just recess right now. Councilmember Yukimura: Recess this matter? Councilmember Kagawa: Recess the meeting right now and take Special Counsel. COUNCIL MEETING 8 JANUARY 12, 2017 Council Chair Rapozo: That would be my suggestion. I am not sure if the Mayor is going to be here. I have allocated thirty (30) minutes for Special Counsel. Mr. Carvaiho: I will be here. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Perfect. With that, we will recess until 9:30 a.m., but first we need to be read into Executive Session. Clerk, can you read ES-888? Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Chair, this is on page 7, ES-888. There being no objections, ES-888 was taken out of order. EXECUTIVE SESSION: ES-888 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4 and 92-5(a)(4), and Kaua`i County Charter Section 3.07(E), the Office of the County Attorney, on behalf of the Kaua`i County Council, requests an Executive Session to allow Special Counsel to provide the Council with a briefing in Syngenta Seeds, Inc., et al. vs. County of Kaua`i, Civil No. CV14-00014 BMK (U.S. District Court); Nos. 14-16833 and 14-16848 (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), and related matters. This briefing and consultation involves consideration of the powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and/or liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this agenda item. (Councilmember Yukimura was noted as not present.) Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Councilmember Kagawa moved to convene in Executive Session for ES-888, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: Even though he did not leave the Chambers yet, let the record reflect that Councilmember Brun will be recusing himself from this item, in all facets, even in the public hearing. Roll call vote. The motion to convene in Executive Session for ES-888 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION: Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 6*, AGAINST EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: Brun TOTAL — 1. COUNCIL MEETING 9 JANUARY 12, 2017 (*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai, Councilmember Yukimura was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an affirmative vote for the motion.) Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. With that, we will recess this meeting to convene in Executive Session. There being no objections, the meeting recessed at 9:00 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:30 a.m., and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Mayor, you may come back up. I apologize for that interruption, but we had to get Mr. Minkin back to court. Mr. Carvalho: I just wanted to explain myself regarding this particular issue and I look forward to some healthy discussion. Wally, my Managing Director, is here and we went over of all it in looking at the plan. There are all of these other pieces happening...I think the timing...at the end of the day, we want what is best for the entire golf course. That is what we are looking at. For this discussion, yes I did veto, and this is why I did it. Council Chair Rapozo: Just for Councilmembers' and the public's information, we are discussing the communication, so we are going to open up the discussion here. The formal laying of the veto on the table will come right after this. No voting or no action will be taken today. By law, we have to wait five (5) days, and then we have up to thirty (30) days to make a decision, basically to reconsider the vote or determine what we are going to do with veto. For today, we are going to lay it on the table, as is required, but we will have as much discussion as we need to. With that, any questions for the Mayor? Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Mayor, thank you for being here this morning and communicating directly with us. You say that from the management's perspective that allowing alcohol, via this Bill, would be a problem for the County. What about the present situation where people are bringing their own alcohol on the course? It is not being regulated by us, so is that not also a liability? Mr. Carvalho: We are in the process of discussing that and looking at how we are going to be managing that portion of the operations. I have Wally folks looking at that more in-depth. Councilmember Yukimura: If you are asking us not to pass this Bill then we need to hear something more concrete about how you are going to address this issue because my way of thinking was if it is now being allowed, if we allow it through a more formal process that is bound by regulation of the Liquor Control Commission, then that will at least provide some regulation which would be better than no regulation and the liabilities to me are the same. Somebody can overdrink on their own alcohol and create the same kind of problems on the roads or whatever. To me, the Bill is an improvement because I believe the liquor concessionaire is not to serve somebody who is looking like they drank too much or whatever. Right now, there is no control. COUNCIL MEETING 10 JANUARY 12, 2017 Mr. Carvalho: I do not know about "no control," but it is what is "allowed." Councilmember Yukimura: Well, what is the control? WALLACE G. REZENTES, JR., Managing Director: My name is Wally Rezentes, Managing Director. We are looking at determining the best course of action, as far as enforcement with the existing levels of staffing. If it is determined that we need to enhance it, then we need to do so. To be honest, from the time this Bill started, I was kind of doing some information-gathering myself because I do not any more frequent the golf course playing it as much as I once did. We understand that there are activities that are more obvious than maybe at other times and it is something that we internally would need to see what we can do to enforce the existing laws that are in place that prohibit alcohol consumption on the course. I know that the enforcement of alcohol is one thing and there are other things that we are trying to work on or make inroads on in areas like marketing and other things like that. I understand where you are coming from with that question and we do realize that we need to get on a different tract with respect to enforcement. We do not have all of the answers today, but we hope to work towards better managing that activity. Mr. Carvalho: Another discussion we had is looking at our policies and procedures currently. As far as I am concerned, I am not a golfer, if you will, but allowing alcohol on the course—no. I understand it is happening and we are currently looking at that. I understand that we cannot actually check each golfer's bag...we had that discussion and I understand that we cannot. My point is that we are looking into it. We have numerous discussions with our legal team to discuss legal issues, which I do not know if I can talk about, but I am asking the question. I think we are getting close to the overall picture to address this, whether we were going to look at additional staffing or not. Can we do it with existing staff? Do we monitor as they check into the counter or not? Then I am told that we cannot actually check it, or you can ask them the question and they can sign off on something. There are so many different scenarios that we have been going over, but the bottom line is that there should be no drinking on the golf course. Councilmember Yukimura: We have been asking for better management of the golf course for years. We are subsidizing that golf course by one million dollars ($1,000,000) and this is kind of just the tip of the iceberg. If you were doing all of this work, it would have been good to ask us to defer the Bill until you came forward with a reasonable plan on this specific issue. I am personally looking for addressing the issue on a bigger scale because...look at that...one million dollars ($1,000,000) a year...we could use that for drug prevention instead. Mr. Carvalho: Right. Councilmember Yukimura: You say that this Bill is going to cause the need for additional staff, but you are already thinking about additional staff for the status quo. Actually, this Bill is not the problem. COUNCIL MEETING 11 JANUARY 12, 2017 Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa has expressed his desire to have a discussion on the golf course and all matters pertaining to the golf course in his committee. Mr. Carvalho: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: So I would ask that rather than debate that issue of the golf course, let us discuss the veto, and if Councilmembers have questions as to your rationale, then please, let us move forward on that. Mr. Carvalho: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: I will turn it over to you, Councilmember Kagawa, and you can let the public know what your plan is. Feel free to ask questions of the Mayor as well. Councilmember Kagawa: I think Councilmember Chock had his hand up first. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Go ahead, Councilmember Chock. Councilmember Chock: Mayor, thank you for being here and communicating this with us on some of the reasons why you moved in this direction and for the clarification on your position, as it was unclear from the beginning. I just wanted to maybe give some background that might help us maybe come to a better decision or the best decision possible, as that is what I know your intention is. For me, when I was approached by the concessionaire about what some of the experiences were at the course, there was inconsistency on the enforcement and that was really one of the issues that came up prevalently for me. While most people were self-monitoring or they did not just do it out in the open, people were bringing alcohol onto the course is what I was being told. There was blatancy as well and to the degree that perhaps coolers were being brought onto the course and strapped onto the carts. I think what that means for me, what I heard, was that it was sort of an "acceptable culture" that was occurring here at the course that needed to be addressed. So really, I am not so much as inclined on the vendor. I think whatever we can do to help the vendor is great and we should look into it, but I also saw the opportunity for the vendor to be that monitoring, because we have no monitoring as it is now, we have no marshal. I am not sure when we took the marshal away, but I know that we did. For me, that is an issue. When this becomes, which I believe it is now due to the papers and everything that has been said, the focus on the social issue of drinking, then we need to be really clear that that is not being addressed at all. I would like to see some commitments moving forward that if this, what we have agreed to here in trying to help the course, is not addressed to our proposed Bill, that enforcement is done to either, like you said, people changing their...it is not only perception, but how they are enforcing it at every level on the course or the reestablishment of a position to ensure that occurs. Mr. Carvalho: I wanted to have a chance to relook at the existing staffing and how we can reorganize to maybe not have to seek additional support. So we will try to do that first and shuffling our existing team and how we can better manage this drinking on the course, if it is happening, which people are COUNCIL MEETING 12 JANUARY 12, 2017 saying it does. Then if there is need for additional and to follow-up on Councilmember Yukimura's point regarding additional staff, should we move forward on allowing drinking on the course. I wanted the chance with our internal team to look at our existing team because I think we can reshuffle things around to have more oversight and a different plan on how we address should there be drinking on the course or how we are going to check in and check out, etcetera, and move on that. Our team has been working on that, so I want more time to address that. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you, Mayor. I understand the veto and the legal issues. In fact, I had a conversation with former Councilmember Yotsuda, who said that it is his understanding that if it was State land, then Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) prevents us from having alcohol consumed on State property. I do not know if even that should have been looked into. My thing is that it is safety that we are talking about...there are numerous names that people give that stretch of highway, like the "most deadly highway on Kaua`i," but Lydgate Park feeds into that "deadly" stretch as well, and it is legal to drink at Lydgate Park, right? Are there any plans for the Administration to ban alcohol at Lydgate Park as well? I think it is just rhetoric if we say, "We are going to blame only the golfers for that place being `deadly,' but Lydgate Park—that is okay, you can drink there." If we are talking about safety, let us actually, to me, as a County, do what we can to make it safer for our residents on the most "deadly" stretch on Kaua`i. Is that a plan? Mr. Carvalho: Well, what I am looking at is the concessionaire, the restaurant part of it, which is part of the course. So whatever meals or beverages you choose, we are saying to do it there in this particular area of the course. As of today, if you want a party or gathering outside, you can. There is a process that you need to go through to consume alcohol. Remember, once upon a time we had the Wailua Marina and Hanamd'ulu Cafe, but they are no longer there. So now there is an opportunity for the business part of this. The beverages and food is, I am saying, in the footprint of that area. On the course, I am saying that we should not have alcohol on the course and having all of these different concessions out there. You can consume here in this particular area, which we can do now. That is the difference. Then of course there is the safety factor right there in the middle of the highway, and you are right, Lydgate is right there, too. We have to talk about this and look at the entire spectrum. For now, that was the focus of the difference between having it on the course or in an area that is confined within the concessionaire's business part of it, which I think is a great thing and we need to look at how to better manage it and come up with the policies and procedures that are going to help us understand how we can make it a viable part of our community. Councilmember Kagawa: My second point is were you informed that even if this Bill passes, that the Administration had the authority to not include it in the bid? Even if this Bill were to pass, I was advised that the Administration does not need to implement it and it could have been prevented and left for the next incoming mayor to decide on whether they wanted to implement it at the time or not. COUNCIL MEETING 13 JANUARY 12, 2017 Mr. Rezentes: That is our understanding. Councilmember Kagawa: I appreciate you taking your stance on how you felt. That is why you are the mayor and that is why we have the checks and balances and that is the natural discourse of government. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Any other questions for the Mayor? Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Mayor, you are saying that you need more time to address—how much time before you will have a plan for us? Mr. Carvalho: Let me say this—we have been talking about this with our Kaua`i Visitors Bureau. There is a business side of it, like I said, a visitor side, so we are reviewing that currently, which was... Councilmember Yukimura: Are you talking about a marketing plan? I am not talking about a marketing plan. Mr. Carvalho: Well, I am just talking about the different parts of the bigger picture. Councilmember Yukimura: No, I am talking about the plan to address drinking on the golf course. Mr. Carvalho: Okay, so let us focus on that. Yes, we are working on that and I need more time. Councilmember Yukimura: How much time? When do you plan to have a plan? Mr. Carvalho: How much more time do we need? Council Chair Rapozo: One (1) question at a time. Ask your question and let him respond. Mr. Carvalho: I am sorry. Let me focus on the Bill itself. I am not talking about anything else. Council Chair Rapozo: That is fine. Mr. Carvalho: On this particular part, I wanted to make sure that we cover all of the different parts. Wally, where are we at right now? Mr. Rezentes: Our immediate plan is to work on the concessionaire bid and look at revising it. The Department of Parks & Recreation has reached out to the past concessionaires from the `70s to present. I know they have reached out to the Kaua`i Golfers Association (KGA). Some restaurant owners here, who may have expressed interest in the past, they have reached out to them, just to get an understanding of their needs and desires of what we could do to our concession bid that might make the concession operations successful, even without COUNCIL MEETING 14 JANUARY 12, 2017 alcohol on the golf course. Based on those discussions...I have had it as well with the Department of Parks & Recreation and business folks. We have reached out to a private company on O`ahu who operates four (4) golf courses on O`ahu and just exchanged some of their challenges. It is very similar to ours, with respect to the restaurant concessions at those individual golf courses. I will not mention names, but the management staff that I spoke to said that they are in litigation with their restaurateur on one of their golf courses for nonpayment. It kind of shed some light on the golf course industry nationally and even internationally, what has taken place. There has been a pretty clear decline in golf over the years. Our golf course has seen the same thing. The dollar is getting squeezed. Maybe we are not talking about marketing, but it all rolls into how we can better market the golf course. I can tell you from our discussions with these people that the public courses are, in the State of Hawai`i, subsidized. They are subsidized by the respective county general funds. Some of the golf courses, like Hilo, went through a multimillion dollar renovation recently at Hilo Municipal Golf Course and they are hoping to have a better product there. What was a common theme throughout these discussions is that there seems to be a need from the restaurant perspective to not only cater to golfers, but have a means of attracting patrons, non-golfers, both local and residential, and that is something that we hope we can encourage in the next concession contract coming up that I know our Parks folks are working on right now with our Purchasing Division. We are working on a number of things that we think, including marketing with Kaua`i Economic Development Board (KEDB), that we hope to have a better, more well-rounded plan that can make the golf course as financially viable as possible. If you track the rounds played, it has declined a bit over the last ten (10) years and some people call it the "Tiger Woods Effect," but I think there are some positive things that I have been hearing recently. I do not have the data, but I am trying to find the data to support it. Council Chair Rapozo: You can save that data for the committee meeting. Mr. Rezentes: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: I am still waiting for the answer to my question, please. Mr. Carvalho: She is asking for a timeline. The bottom line is... Councilmember Yukimura: I... Mr. Carvalho: Today, if you go to the golf course tomorrow, what are we doing tomorrow to ensure that we are addressing this? Councilmember Yukimura: No, Mayor... Mr. Carvalho: That is what I am working on internally first. Councilmember Yukimura: You said that you were working on a plan to address illegal alcohol on the course right now and I want to know when that plan COUNCIL MEETING 15 JANUARY 12, 2017 is going to be ready to present to us. All the issues that Wally has addressed are real issues, which I tried to address by talking about the management of the golf course. I was told that we are not addressing that in this discussion. So regarding the Bill and our desire to have more regulation over alcohol consumption at the golf course, I heard you say, and correct me if I am wrong, that you are developing a plan to address that and I want to know when we can expect a plan to address that. Mr. Carvalho: My answer to your question is that we are currently working on that now. If you want me to say that I am coming back in two (2) weeks... Councilmember Yukimura: Yes, or two (2) months or something. Mr. Carvalho: I am not sure...give me two (2) months then. My point is that I am assuring you folks that we are working on this plan to ensure how we are going to be addressing it today or tomorrow. Are we going to change our policies and procedures? When our golfers check into the golf course, are we going to ask them, "Do you have alcohol in your bag?" Those are the kinds of discussions we are having to immediately follow-up on what you are saying. The bigger picture, I can talk about it all day, the marketing and all that. Council Chair Rapozo: We will talk about that in the committee because I think that is one that needs to be done soon. I think what Councilmember Yukimura is asking, and I was going to ask the same question—is it possible, let us say in two (2) weeks, that you or the Department of Parks & Recreation provide us the different scenarios? For me, I do not think it is an option for us to enforce. It is not something we can say, "Well, if we have manpower, we are going to enforce." No, we have to enforce. Mr. Carvalho: Right. Council Chair Rapozo: For everybody watching out there that has been drinking or whatever, just understand that enforcement will occur. That is number one. Correct me if I am wrong, Mayor. Mr. Carvalho: No, go ahead. Council Chair Rapozo: If this is not your intent then let me know because this is what I am hearing. Also, for us to enforce this to the point where it is going to be of significance—in other words, for us to enforce this where it will make a difference, this is what we need: number one, can we do it with existing staff? If we can, explain how. Mr. Carvalho: Right. Council Chair Rapozo: If you cannot, explain to us what it will take financially to make that happen. Mr. Carvalho: Right. COUNCIL MEETING 16 JANUARY 12, 2017 Council Chair Rapozo: Does that mean hiring more people? Getting another golf cart? I do not want to have that discussion here today. That is your kuleana. Mr. Rezentes: To answer Councilmember Yukimura's question, I am confident that one (1) month should be sufficient for us. Council Chair Rapozo: Well, I think one (1) month is too long. Mr. Rezentes: One (1) month should be sufficient for us. Council Chair Rapozo: I honestly could sit down with the Department of Parks & Recreation today and... Mr. Carvalho: There are two (2) things we want to do: number one, look at our existing operations. Council Chair Rapozo: Right. Mr. Carvalho: Like you said, the second part, if we do have additional park rangers or whatever the title may be... Council Chair Rapozo: Police? The parking lot is one issue. Mr. Carvalho: Yes. If it is one (1) month, fine. If it is in two (2) weeks, we can give you...I do not know if it is going to be complete. Council Chair Rapozo: I am going to... Mr. Carvalho: In one (1) month, we will have a plan in place. Council Chair Rapozo: One (1) month? Mr. Carvalho: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: I am okay with one (1) month if you are asking for one (1) month because I do not want to get a letter saying, "I need two (2) more weeks." Councilmember Yukimura, is one (1) month okay? Councilmember Yukimura: Well, I would like it before we vote on this Bill, by the time we have to vote on this Bill. Mr. Carvalho: Well, we have thirty (30) days. Councilmember Yukimura: Thirty (30) days from the day it was returned. So what is that? Council Chair Rapozo: No, we are laying it on the table today. COUNCIL MEETING 17 JANUARY 12, 2017 Councilmember Yukimura: Oh, is it thirty (30) days from laying it on the table? Council Chair Rapozo: We have between five (5) and thirty (30), so we have one (1) month. Is it from the lay on the table? I believe it is from the day we lay it on the table, but I could be wrong. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: We were looking at scheduling it for the January 25th Council Meeting. Mr. Carvalho: Again, just making sure existing resources or additional resources, however that may be. Council Chair Rapozo: Correct. Mr. Carvalho: We will come back with a plan. Councilmember Yukimura: So the 25th is when it is scheduled, but what is the actual deadline? What is thirty (30) days? We can always have a special meeting. Councilmember Kagawa: I have a process question. Council Chair Rapozo: Go ahead. Councilmember Kagawa: We are making it seem as though if we try and time it before the decision of the veto override is considered that it will change what is happening. It is not going to happen. We just talked and he understands that regardless of whether the Bill passes or not, they are not going to implement it. To me, it is moot to hang a decision of management on whether this Bill will allow a concession to be sold. It was already said that it is not going to happen and they have the prerogative not to put it in the contract. From my perspective, let us have the management discussion when they are ready, hopefully as soon as possible, and the decision of whether a concession serving alcohol will be allowed at Wailua Golf Course in the near future, in the next two (2) years, is moot. It is done. It will not happen. It was already stated. That is just my perspective. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: My perspective is if the Bill would allow better regulation and they do not have a plan for regulation of the existing situation, the Bill might be better and the Council could say, "This is one alternative," so we override the veto. That is an option for this Mayor or the next mayor. Then the Mayor chooses to either have a plan to address the illegal drinking and does not enforce the Bill that we make into law, but the people who do not want alcohol on the golf course, which is the reason for opposing this Bill, will still have alcohol on the golf course unless there is a plan to regulate it. That is why I am asking for a plan to regulate it or stop it. Council Chair Rapozo: They are going to give us a response in one (1) month. COUNCIL MEETING 18 JANUARY 12, 2017 Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: January 27th is the thirtieth day, so we have until January 27th. I kind of agree with Councilmember Kagawa. It is two (2) separate discussions. Whether it is regulation with the Bill or without the Bill, the bottom line is regulation. What will that cost? We have it currently scheduled for the 25th, so we really do not have much time. After the 25th, we could do a Special Council Meeting. Like Councilmember Kagawa said, it is irrelevant. You folks have made the decision or will make the decision not to allow it anyway. It is not a prohibitive ordinance or bill; it is enabling, so we allow that to happen, but it is up to you on whether or not you want to implement it, versus a prohibitive ordinance, which says you cannot do something, then you really do not have the ability if it does not get vetoed to allow it. Let this take its course and have our discussions to see where it goes. I think the bigger discussion is obviously the enforcement. The second part is Councilmember Kagawa's discussion about how we are going to make that a better place. We already have the course. It is a stellar course. Mr. Carvalho: It is. Council Chair Rapozo: It is much better than many private courses. We have that. We just have to bring more people to it. I have one question and maybe Mauna Kea can answer it. You do not have the come up, but that State issue of whether or not that course is a State...is it State? If it is the State, then it is over. This discussion is over. I wish someone would have told me earlier because in State parks, it is absolutely illegal. MAUNA KEA TRASK, County Attorney: For the record, Mauna Kea Trask, County Attorney. The County Attorney's Office has identified that Councilmember Kagawa is correct. The Wailua Golf Course is in the State Land Use Conservation District and one of the approvals would need to be from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) in order to engage in this activity. So it would be DLNR, as well as the Liquor Control Commission. Council Chair Rapozo: We have dealt with the Liquor Control Commission. That already went through. For the State issue, is it not prohibited by HRS to drink alcohol in State parks? Is that a State park or is that conservation? Mr. Trask: It is actually ceded land, but we would have to get State approval. We are not aware of a total prohibition at this point, but we do recognize that we need State approval. Council Chair Rapozo: So it is different from a State park? Mr. Trask: It is ceded land and I do not want to get into... Council Chair Rapozo: I understand that, but is it designated as a State park? COUNCIL MEETING 19 JANUARY 12, 2017 Mr. Trask: To my knowledge, no. It is not a State park. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kaneshiro. Councilmember Kaneshiro: We obviously went through the approval process before because we are serving alcohol on the course... Mr. Trask: On the concession. Councilmember Kaneshiro: Yes, at the concession stand. Mr. Trask: Right. It would need approval...it is just another regulatory level. That is not State park's jurisdiction to my knowledge. Councilmember Kaneshiro: Okay. Thanks. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Is it not on executive order to the County on golf course purposes? Mr. Trask: Correct. Councilmember Yukimura: So when that happens, does the County not take over in terms of jurisdiction? Mr. Trask: Within the confines of the order, our understanding is that it would still need DLNR approval to sell liquor on that course. Councilmember Yukimura: What statute is that? Mr. Trask: I do not have that with me right now. Council Chair Rapozo: We will send it over. Mr. Trask: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: I am more concerned about whether or not there is an outright prohibition...apparently not, if the restaurant is serving it, but I would be curious to know if we went through that regulatory step with that restaurant. I had no idea. I thought that was our land. I knew it was executive order, but I assumed like Councilmember Yukimura, that once they turn it over to us, it is basically for all intentional purposes, County land. We will send it over, Mauna Kea. Mr. Trask: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: I do not think it is fair for you to try to guess today. Are there any other questions for the Mayor, Wally, or Mauna Kea? If not, thank you very much. COUNCIL MEETING 20 JANUARY 12, 2017 Mr. Carvalho: Mahalo. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you, Mayor. Do we have registered speakers for this? Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: The first registered speaker is Glenn Mickens, followed by Ken Taylor. Council Chair Rapozo: Mr. Mickens. For the public that has testimony, you heard what was discussed so you know where we are going from here. If you have testimony, adjust accordingly because I think a lot of your questions may have been answered. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: So if they speak now, they will only be given six (6) minutes now on the entire issue, right? Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. Councilmember Kagawa: I would not want to hear twelve (12) minutes of the same testimony. Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. For the staffs information, this testimony would be carried over to the actual laying on the table as well. GLENN MICKENS: For the record, Glenn Mickens. You have a copy of my testimony and copies of all of the things that have come from the newspapers that I want you to make sure that you read, comments from the public about this Bill. We, taxpayers, have been subsidizing the use of the Wailua Golf Course, as Councilmember Yukimura said, by one million dollars ($1,000,000) a year and it appears that one of the main purposes for passage of this Bill is to increase usage of the course to make it a true enterprise operation where income is greater than outgo, as it once was many years ago. To make this happen, the Bill as proposed will allow the concessionaire to sell alcoholic beverages to golfers while on the course instead of having them buy and drink the beverage at the Over Par Bar and Grill. In other words, this Bill wants to make an illegal act, drinking on the course, legal, using the assumption that this change will miraculously bring enough golfers to the course to eliminate the one million dollar ($1,000,000) subsidization. Would this scenario ever happen rationally? Is that going to really bring that many more people in it to keep us taxpayers from paying those million dollars? I did further research to see what the real reason might be for our golf course not being at least to break even operation like it once was and the most logical reason I got from a very reliable source was that excess money, once taken in to maintain the course, was being used for other than that purpose and thus the need for more tax money. Another parallel situation is why are our roads in some of the worst shape in Hawai`i when we should have enough money from our gas tax, registration fee, and vehicle tax to have them well paved? The answer is that we use these funds for other purposes than what they were levied for and thus more taxes, excise or whatever, are needed. If anyone disagrees with this logic then why not use Charter Section 3.17 and have a thorough investigation to find out? That section has been there forever, so why do we not use it once in a while if we have a conflict of interest COUNCIL MEETING 21 JANUARY 12, 2017 here to find out what is going on? This body has the responsibility to represent the people who elected them. According to recent editorials in The Garden Island, comments by the people about this issue and by the Mayor and our Police Chief who are overwhelmingly against any further legalization of booze on our golf course. The ten (10) reasons Chief Perry has given for vetoing this Bill are outstanding and should be carefully considered. I have enclosed these articles and if you have read them, I urge you to carefully review them again. In closing, I am sure that every member of this Council is well-aware of the time and money we are spending in our schools, organizations, and rehab programs to keep our youth off of drugs, alcohol being the worst of them all. We should not be putting any message out there that we are trying to make an illegal act legal in the use of this drug. Council Chair Rapozo: Glenn... Mr. Mickens: Is that not simply a contradiction to our use and drug policy? Council Chair Rapozo: Your first three (3) minutes are up. Mr. Mickens: Okay. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Next speaker. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Ken Taylor. KEN TAYLOR: Chair and Members of the Council, Ken Taylor. I want to first thank the Mayor for vetoing this Bill. I think it was necessary. The game of golf is on one hand very simple and on the other hand it is very challenging. You tee up the ball and drive it and you hope it goes down the center of the fairway. But sometimes you drive it and it slices or sometimes you drive it and it hooks. Too many slices and hooks tend to drive you to drink. So we have this problem. If we look at the anatomy of a golf bag, you have the main cylinder that houses the golf clubs and you have many other little pouches around the outer edges. Those are not all for golf balls. They very handily make that a pint or half-pint of your favorite indulgence or a number of cold beers can be put in some of the other pouches. So if a person has a problem, they are not going to be buying liquor out there on the golf course; they are going to be bringing their own. I have seen this so much. The thing is that you talk about wanting to make money, but a one million dollar ($1,000,000) shortfall at five dollars ($5) a drink—you would have to sell two hundred thousand (200,000) drinks a year or about five hundred fifty (550) drinks a day to make up that shortfall and that is without and including any labor or material costs. So this is a bad plan for wanting to make money, and really maybe the thing to do would be to sell off the golf course and eliminate that one million dollar ($1,000,000) a year deficit. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. Freitas. JEROME FREITAS: My name is Jerome Freitas. Good morning, Chair Rapozo, Vice Chair Kagawa, Councilmembers, and Staff. We are talking about Bill No. 2635, Draft 2, right? In the County books right now, it is illegal to drink on the golf course. Correct? There shall be no drinking on the golf course. I COUNCIL MEETING 22 JANUARY 12, 2017 went there a couple of days ago to the golf course and the restaurant was closed already. He is not making money. Why? I am not against anybody that golfs. My brother golfs there three (3) times a week. If you drink at Lydgate Park, like Councilmember Kagawa was saying, they do not have a restaurant there where you are taking business away, right? That is different. At the golf course right now, the person is not making money because they are drinking outside, so that is why the person is not making money. It does not matter if it is nine hundred dollars ($900) or whatever it is. Does the County have liability insurance if something should happen? Who is going to pay for that? Somebody comes out...especially that road over there when you come out from the golf course, it is a dangerous place. Three (3) people died there already. I talked to Ray McCormick and he said it is in the plans, but he did not give a definite time. I want to also thank the Mayor for vetoing the Bill and Police Chief Perry. Drinking is a bad sign for the younger generation. They are going to say, "Dad, why are the people drinking at the golf course?" They cannot wait until they are finished and go to go the restaurant and support the restaurateur, and that is it. It is not that hard. I had a lot of calls from the public saying that they are against that. You have to get a person who knows about the restaurant business and things like that. If not, that person is not going to make it, even at nine hundred dollars ($900) a month for rent. It is about time where you folks have to get your act together, work together for the best interest of everybody, for everyone on Kaua`i. If there was drinking illegally all these years, why did they not enforce the law? If something happened at the time, what would happen? Can we have some answers? Council Chair Rapozo: Mr. Freitas, I have to stop you there. You can come back after. Mr. Freitas: Thank you. I am going to drink a couple of beers now. Council Chair Rapozo: Mr. Hart. BRUCE HART: For the record, Bruce Hart. I have something to read and it is only way I know, with the brevity of time, to get through it and it is very positive. I am very pleased. At the last committee meeting before the vote, where I attended and gave testimony, while the Council was in session, I noticed that the Mayor's Managing Director Wallace Rezentes stepped out. Considering an opportunity to speak to him, I shortly thereafter followed and left Council Chambers. Wally was coming up the steps to return to the Council Chambers and I asked if I could speak to him for a moment. He kindly complied. I took the moment to offer him and threw him to our Mayor any assistance I could in regards to the passage of this Bill. I was not sure what I could do, but made an offer in good faith. This began a brief conversation, which consisted of our passing ideas and strategies back and forth, which could help to promote the golf course and thereby increase usage, which could bring a greater return of revenue. It was a lively conversation and enjoyable. During this conversation, Vice Chair Kagawa came into view on the other side of the upper floor walkway. Our conversation continued until Vice Chair again came into view to return to Council Chambers. In a spontaneous gesture of goodwill, Wally asked and offered to Vice Chair the idea/request for a workshop to be scheduled in regards to the Bill. Vice Chair answered, "You want it? You got it." I was standing to the right, just behind Wally, COUNCIL MEETING 23 JANUARY 12, 2017 and was so excited and pleased that I was nodding my head "yes" like one of those dashboard dogs. Vice Chair returned to Council Chambers and Wally and I followed through the public door. Later at a break, I said to Wally, I thought it was an excellent idea and he answered, "It would be an opportunity to pass ideas back and forth." I would like to commend our Mayor for his commitment to the safety of our community and applaud his courage in casting this veto. I also would like to say it was refreshing to hear Wally's sincere and respectful offer to work in unity with our legislative branch of government to resolve this issue and Vice Chair Kagawa's response. Thank you, Vice Chair. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you, Mr. Hart. Anyone else wishing to testify for the first time? Anyone wishing to testify for the second time? Mr. Mickens. Mr. Mickens: For the record, Glenn Mickens. It has been brought up about enforcement at the golf course that there is illegal drinking going on already. I presume it is true because the trashcans out there are full of beer cans or whatever. It is my understanding that we have a person that we are paying ninety thousand dollars ($90,000) a year to oversee that golf course. I know we keep on saying, "Why should we go out and hire a marshal to do this?" There is no enforcement mechanism. Well, I guess my question is then is what is duty of this person out there that we are paying ninety thousand dollars ($90,000) a year for? Does he have any duty to be able to oversee what is going on out there, whether people are illegally bringing booze out there in their golf carts or whatever? I do not think, like you said, Chair, I do not think there is any doubt that there is going to have to be a marshal or some enforcement mechanism out there to see that something is being taken care of. If we have a person out there that is in charge of that golf course who we are paying big bucks to, I would think it would be there. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else wishing to testify for the second time? Mr. Hart? Mr. Hart: For the record, Bruce Hart. I listened to all of the conversations and it seems to me that the most immediate problem is what we have been talking about, which is enforcement. I would just like to suggest and seems to me a simple thing, why do we or the Mayor not have a Kaua`i Police Officer (KPD) go out there? It could even be somebody on KPD who is on light duty? It could be somebody who may be instead of a desk job because of whatever reasons they could go out there and that would address this up until the time we can come up with some further plans? Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. Freitas. Mr. Freitas: My name is Jerome Freitas. I am not against anybody here. Whatever vote you cast, it is up to you folks. Before you folks vote, I would like to say to look deep down in your hearts. What is the right thing to do? We have more problems right now outside the County. I am not going to mention things like roads and parks. That is important. Vote the way you want to. From there I am not against any of you folks. I like all of you, doing what you have to do. The golf course is open to the public. Do they have anything to show COUNCIL MEETING 24 JANUARY 12, 2017 that the public is welcomed and that they can go there for breakfast, lunch, dinner with their families? This is not only a golf course for playing golf. Then you can start getting more money coming in. It is not only the liquor that will help out, it never will. You have to get somebody experienced running that restaurant and that is it. I went there a couple of days ago and I saw a lot of things that were wrong, but I am not going to talk about that. The safety issues are more important. I want to thank you very much for listening to my concerns. Have a nice day. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else wishing to testify? Seeing none, I will call the meeting back to order. Further discussion? Councilmember Kagawa. There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you, Chair. I have been golfing at Wailua from I would say the late `70s. Back then, we had three (3) courses at least west of Princeville. So we had Kaua`i Surf, Kukuiolono, and of course we had Wailua Golf Course. Back in those days, until twelve o'clock or so, you could not get a tee time on any day. It was full and packed. But since that time, we have had the addition of Kiahuna Golf Course, Po`ipu Bay Golf Course, and Puakea Golf Course, and times have changed. There was a splurge in golf courses built around the United States, and Kaua`i was no different. I think as Wally tried to explain, the interest in golf has died somewhat and all of the courses, if you ask them, I think are all struggling to fill tee times. That is part of the problem for Wailua. How do we get more tourists to play at Wailua Golf Course? We have people from Honolulu telling us that they would rather play at Wailua than Waialae, which is really saying something if you are a golfer because a lot of us have not even had the opportunity to play at Waialae before. Wailua is a magnificent golf course. The sad thing is that the food concession has been a problem area. We have gone through three (3) concessionaires in the past six (6) years. The food concession has been closed half of the time or more than half of the time. It is pretty sad because a lot of the concessionaires, who I personally know, called me. Joey Tavares was first there, and then we had Mike Soong. Then we have had Corey Aguano from Brick Oven Pizza. All three (3) concessionaires have raised complaints about the County as a landlord about how the facility is in such poor shape and about how poor the response has been to their concerns. About nine (9) months ago, myself and Councilmember Chock were contacted by the last concessionaire, I would say, and he told us that if something is not done soon in listening to his concerns, that he will be closing shortly. So we worked for a while on this with Director of Parks & Recreation Lenny Rapozo and Mauna Kea and our Staff, Jenelle. We really worked hard and tried to put forth the vendor's concerns to try and keep it open because I thought that in order to be a top golf course attraction, you need the restaurant concession to be open. We came up with this Bill on his behalf that attempted to try to keep him or a successor after him open, I guess to have operation that could compete with the courses like Kiahuna, Puakea, and Po`ipu Bay, which have beverage and food carts going around. It is a five-hour round, eighteen (18) holes and every two and a half(2.5) hours you get to stop after the ninth hole to get your drink, whether it would be a soda or a snack. It is really convenient for a lot of golfers to have a concession cart going around, even if you are not drinking alcohol, just like grab a sandwich, chips, spam musubi, or what have you. I thought I would COUNCIL MEETING 25 JANUARY 12, 2017 not be increasing the danger of alcohol being consumed because I knew it was already being consumed. To what degree—I do not know. In hindsight, if the Mayor does not want to implement it then I will agree with it and we will move forward and try to improve the golf course. The key is, I think, Councilmember Yukimura has hit the nail on the head, is improved management and marketing of the course. That is how you are going to attack a dwindling market, which is by a better marketing plan and I will be pushing for that and I will be supporting the Department of Parks & Recreation in trying to improve the marketing plan as we go forward. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo, the presiding officer, relinquished Chairmanship to Council Vice Chair Kagawa. (Council Chair Rapozo was noted as not present.) Councilmember Kagawa: Any further discussion? Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: As you stated, Vice Chair, the golf course is a gem. It is a magnificent course and it is an asset if we can manage it properly. Right now, it is a liability with us spending over one million dollars ($1,000,000) of general fund moneys and real property taxes to subsidize it to keep it open. We need a golf course where there are best practices and where there is really great entrepreneurial thinking. I do not believe we can manage the golf course from the Mayor's Office. We need a manager that is specifically assigned to the golf course and someone who has experience, who is an entrepreneur, and he or she should be given the goal of breaking even in our operations. As a public golf course, I do not think we need to make a profit, but we need to at least have it pay for itself. We need to keep it open for our residents and visitors, but we need to do much better in managing this magnificent County asset. (Council Chair Rapozo was noted as present.) Council Vice Chair Kagawa returned Chairmanship to Council Chair Rapozo. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Any other discussion? If not, thank you all for your comments. I will say that on February 1st, in the Public Works / Parks & Recreation Committee, we will have the discussion on the operations at the Wailua Golf Course. So if you are interested, February 1st is when that will be on. That is going to be opened to not only plans for concessions, but also reducing the County's subsidy, so we will have a broad opportunity to discuss that. The motion to receive C 2017-24 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please. BILL TO LAY ON TABLE: Pursuant to Section 4.03A of the Kaua`i County Charter, the Council must enter the objections of the Mayor in the journal of the Council and "Lay the Veto on the COUNCIL MEETING 26 JANUARY 12, 2017 Table." The Council may, after five (5) and within thirty (30) days after the Bill has been so returned, reconsider the vote upon the Bill. This agenda item is only for the purpose of laying the veto on the table. The Council will NOT be voting to override or sustain the Mayor's veto at this meeting. Any future Council Meeting to override or sustain the Mayor's veto will be scheduled pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS), Chapter 92. Bill No. 2635, Draft 2 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 19, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE WAILUA GOLF COURSE Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to lay the Mayoral veto of Bill No. 2635, Draft 2, on the table, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Is there any way to kill this thing now? Council Chair Rapozo: Kill it? No, unfortunately. Councilmember Kagawa: Again, it is moot. The Mayor does not want to do it. He has the prerogative, whether it passes or not, not to do it and I just do not see delaying it for thirty (30) days if we can just kill it and move on. Council Chair Rapozo: Jade, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe if we do not take action, does the veto stand? So if we do not take action from this, then the veto would stand and it would be over. Unfortunately, I believe this is ministerial and I believe we have to put this on the table. The Charter says that we have to put it on the table so that is what we are doing today. We do not have to act on it. In other words, if we let the time go after thirty (30) days, then the veto would stand and the Bill would be dead. Go ahead. Councilmember Kagawa: I have a comment. Council Chair Rapozo: Go ahead. Councilmember Kagawa: Had we known that the Mayor intended to veto it or was not going to implement it, I do not think this Bill would have ever made it this far. I know he apologized, but it is just unfortunate because it created some articles in the paper and it was really unnecessary because had we known, the six (6) of us, it would have been an easy vote to kill it. I think either the Administration needs to keep better track of what is on the Council agenda or we have to communicate better to the Mayor that we need him to oversee what his management is coming up and telling us on important items that are going to become political news. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Well, I think this illustrates my point that there is a need for a strong manager who can represent the Mayor here and know COUNCIL MEETING 27 JANUARY 12, 2017 what is going on at the golf course and actually develop the kinds of plans that they say they are developing. I want to just point out that by allowing the veto to stand, we will still have the problem of alcohol on the golf course. Council Chair Rapozo: The fact is that is not going to stop. Our pursuit of that issue is a separate issue and not tied in with this veto at all. I do not intend to allow that part to go away. We will just see how it pans out and what their response is. Anyone else? I will just say that when the Department of Parks & Recreation was here, the question was asked directly of the Deputy Parks Director of whether or not the Administration supported the Bill and it was very clear to me from what he had said was that the Department of Parks & Recreation supported any matter or any action that would assist the concessionaire, including this one. So I think what Councilmember Kagawa talks about is quite important. Unfortunately, we live in a world today where people wait to see, whether it is the Council, the Legislature, the Congress, or whatever, to take some sort of action or attempt to take action and they turn on the attack mode and they just attack. That is just the world we live in today. So I think your point about had we known from the beginning, had we known that the Administration was not going to support the Bill, had we known that if the Bill passed they would not implement—I agree, Councilmember Kagawa, that a lot of the unnecessary...you read the comments and some of them are so personal and hurtful. Why? That does not make your point any stronger when you do that. Some people get satisfaction out of doing that. They just feel good when they can step on someone. Unfortunately, that is the nature of this beast and this profession that we choose to do. Much of that could have been avoided if we had just known from the beginning that, in fact, the Administration was not going to support it. We will see where it goes. I am hoping that this will run its course and that the veto will stand and it will just be over. Then we can address the issues that I think are the real issues, which is the enforcement of regulating the drinking of alcohol on the golf course. That is something that the Department of Parks & Recreation is going to have to figure out a plan. I think one (1) month is too much time, but in the spirit of collaboration, we will give them one (1) month. Again, February 1st, it would be on our Committee agenda in Councilmember Kagawa's committee and I believe we will have some very good and productive discussion. Any other discussion before we move forward? The motion is to lay the veto on the table. Roll call. The motion to lay the Mayoral veto of Bill No. 2635, Draft 2, on the table was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR MOTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL– 7, AGAINST MOTION: None TOTAL– 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL– 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL – 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Next item. C 2017-06 Communication (10/20/2016) from the Fire Chief, requesting Council approval of the indemnification language contained in State COUNCIL MEETING 28 JANUARY 12, 2017 Lease No. DOT-A-16-0005, to release and indemnify the State of Hawai`i Department of Transportation Airports Division: Councilmember Yukimura moved to approve C 2017-06, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony? I know that the Chief is here. I believe we all had the discussion in the committee last week. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to approve C 2017-06 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. C 2017-26 Communication (12/20/2016) from the Director of Economic Development, requesting Council approval to receive and expend funds in the amount of $161,120.00, from the State of Hawai`i, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), and to indemnify the State DVR, for the County of Kaua`i's Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA)/DVR 2017 Summer Youth Employment Program (DVR-SYEP), which enables the County of Kaua`i to conduct a summer youth employment program for vocational rehabilitation participants (with special needs) with subsidized summer jobs to acquire work experience in a safe environment in addition to helping them develop good work habits: Councilmember Chock moved to approve C 2017-26, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you very much. Any discussion or public testimony? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Councilmember Yukimura: I just want to say what a wonderful program this is. I know that the agencies that service people with special needs who are involved in this Vocational Rehabilitation program are very happy and I am so thankful that Kaeo Bradford and the Office of Economic Development, Linda Nuland-Ames, and Vocational Rehab for putting this program together. Thank you very much. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Any other discussion? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Speaking of the golf course, last summer I witnessed this program at work at the Wailua Golf Course and I was just really pleased that we had programs like this to take care of students that came from my school where I teach, Kapa'a High School, and one of the students that I talked to COUNCIL MEETING 29 JANUARY 12, 2017 said that he loved the program and he was really happy with the way that Richie Rapozo and his staff had treated him and that he learned a lot and kept working in areas that were safe. So kudos to the golf course staff, like Richie Rapozo and all of the departments that are taking advantage of this wonderful program. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you very much. Any further discussion? The motion to approve C 2017-26 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Chair, the next item is C 2017-27. There is a memorandum dated December 28th from the Kaua`i County Housing Agency asking that this item be received for the record. C 2017-27 Communication (12/22/2016) from the Housing Director, requesting Council approval for the following: a. Fee simple acquisition from the owners of the residential unit at 3920 Haoa Street, #113, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, Hawai`i, TMK: (4) 3-5-001-165-0003, for not more than $191,550.00; b. Fee simple resale of the residential unit situated at 3920 Haoa Street, #113, Lihu`e, for not more than $191,550.00, to a participant on the Affordable Housing Program Waitlist and will be subject to the County of Kaua`i's Restriction on Sale or Transfer, Debt and Use for a period of twenty (20) years; c. Authorize the County Clerk to sign legal documents related to the acquisition and resale transactions. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. This was a request to basically purchase an affordable housing unit that the County was going to exercise their right to purchase the first right of refusal. The buyer has since reconsidered and they want to keep the house, so no action is required. Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: I have a question for Mr. Mackler, who I see sitting in the audience. Council Chair Rapozo: I will suspend the rules. Mr. Mackler. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. GARY MACKLER, Housing Development Coordinator: Good morning Councilmembers. Gary Mackler, for the record. Councilmember Yukimura: Good morning. Thank you, Gary. I just wondered why we were not doing a leasehold approach with this one, as we often do or usually do. COUNCIL MEETING 30 JANUARY 12, 2017 Mr. Mackler: Well, going back with the Kamamalu project from its inception, which was intended to start as a leasehold project, that was problematic for financing because Fannie Mae would not buy loans on the secondary market and when that project opened its doors and started its marketing and sales, local lenders would not give loans on this project as a leasehold condominium. So what we had to do was come back to the Council and ask that that be changed from leasehold to fee simple and once that approval was given to us from the Council, the sales activity picked up from there and local lenders were able to make loans and sell loans on the secondary market. We do not do leasehold on condominium sales. It is not something that we can get financing in for. This sale were to go forward would be subject to a twenty-year buyback. Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you. This is a condo sale then? Mr. Mackler: Yes, it is. Councilmember Yukimura: I am sorry. I did not really place it in my mind, but Kamamalu is the one by the industrial, right? Mr. Mackler: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: By the industrial park? Mr. Mackler: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. Thank you for the explanation. Mr. Mackler: You are welcome. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Any other questions for Mr. Mackler? If not, I will call the meeting back to order. Further discussion? Councilmember Chock moved to receive C 2017-27 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item. C 2017-28 Communication (12/30/2016) from the Hawai`i State Association of Counties President Michael P. Victorino, transmitting for Council approval, the Hawai`i State Association of Counties (HSAC) Executive Committee's nomination of Hawai`i County Councilmember Dru Kanuha to fill a vacancy on the board of the National Association of Counties' Western Interstate Region (WIR) for the term ending on June 30, 2017, pursuant to the Bylaws of the Hawai`i State Association of Counties, Inc.: Councilmember Yukimura moved to receive C 2017-28 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. COUNCIL MEETING 31 JANUARY 12, 2017 There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to receive C 2017-28 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: The next item is on page 4. LEGAL DOCUMENT: C 2017-29 Communication (12/29/2016) from the Director of Finance, requesting Council approval to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the State of Hawai`i's Department of Defense and the County of Kaua`i for use of the Kapa'a Armory. • Memorandum of Agreement Between the State Department of Defense and the County of Kaua`i Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to approve C 2017-29, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to approve C 2017-29 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. CLAIMS: C 2017-30 Communication (12/05/2016) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by David R. Wellington, for property damage and for damage to his personal property, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2017-31 Communication (12/21/2016) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Bacon Universal Company, Inc., for damage to their equipment, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2017-32 Communication (12/21/2016) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Bacon Universal Company, Inc., for damage to their equipment, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. COUNCIL MEETING 32 JANUARY 12, 2017 C 2017-33 Communication (12/21/2016) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Bacon Universal Company, Inc., for damage to their equipment, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2017-34 Communication (12/21/2016) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Bacon Universal Company, Inc., for damage to their equipment, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2017-35 Communication (12/21/2016) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Bacon Universal Company, Inc., for damage to their equipment, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. Councilmember Kagawa moved to refer C 2017-30, C 2017-31, C 2017-32, C 2017-33, C 2017-34, and C 2017-35 to the Office of the County Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the Council, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Any discussion? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I would like to make a request because I know some of these claims do not come back before the Council and this particular claim, C 2017-30, I was contacted by Mr. Wellington and this issue involved a sewer problem where he believes that the County end of the sewer caused the damage to his house. My question was does the County have a process, like if the homeowner, if it happens to any homeowner and a situation like this happens with the sewer or if they believe the problem is not their personal toilet or whatever, that is it the sewer, because I think some neighbors were affected as well. That is what led them to believe that it is the County's end that caused the backlog. Is there a process for homeowners to contact perhaps the sewer office and they resolve it there? It seems to me like if we have this long process and the sewer is already cleaned out, then it is very hard to say where the problem was. I think it occurs when there is heavy rain and that was when this particular problem occurred. I would think that a lot of the evidence is gone. I was hoping that for homeowners there was a faster way than filling a claim. I do not know if Mauna Kea has anything to share. On this particular case, if I can get back the results of what happened because he personally contacted me and I said that this was the process and that I would look into it. Council Chair Rapozo: Let us do this. As you see the next five (5) claims, which are all being filed by Bacon Universal Company, Inc. for damage to their equipment, I looked at the claims last week and that caused me to put an item on today's agenda. So we will have that discussion today for Bacon Universal, Inc. Let us do that item at the next meeting. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: I agree with you. I have not spoken to the claimant, but I am aware of what happened out there and there should be a better COUNCIL MEETING 33 JANUARY 12, 2017 process than filing a claim and going to litigation. Staff, can you note that? Mauna Kea, we will have the department here as well to explain to us what they believed happened and why everything has to go to a claim. Councilmember Kagawa: The second part, if I may, Chair, is that when the Solid Waste Division problem happened at the transfer stations, they got hammered for it. Now if the Wastewater people are not doing their regular maintenance and are going to just get away without us finding what is the problem, how are you going to rectify this problem, and what is needed to improve the system so that it does not happen again, those types of questions, I believe need to be answered the same way that the Solid Waste Division had to answer it. I do not believe that filing a claim is a way of just burying the issue and this Council not being aware of what is the Wastewater people doing if this is a recurring problem. Who is taking responsibility for it? Is corrective action being taken? I think we have to be fair to all departments under our purview. Thank you, Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: I can tell you that if you want to discuss the specifics of this claim, we will do it in Executive Session. If you want to discuss the Wastewater system, especially on that side—if my toilet plugged, but of course I have cesspool, I do not have sewer, but if one (1) house has an issue, then you could argue that that person's house is a problem. But if everyone on that street is having a problem when the high rains come, then you can pretty much assume that it is a sewer issue. I do not want to get into the discussions because I do not really know what caused it, but I guess what I am offering is that, in fact, you want to have that discussion with them here on the overall system, we can do that obviously in your committee in the open. But anything specific to this claim, because it has been filed, will have to occur in Executive Session. Councilmember Brun: So for items C 2017-31 through C 2017-35, you are going to have someone here to update us? Council Chair Rapozo: Yes, today. Councilmember Brun: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: Remember, we had one prior. What was the other place that we rent machines from? Allied? Councilmember Kaneshiro: It was Bacon. Council Chair Rapozo: It was Bacon as well when we damaged their equipment as well. We actually discussed that in Executive Session and now we have another five (5). We just have to find out why, maybe we are not teaching our employees how to drive their equipment properly or take care of it. We will have that discussion today. Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: With respect to the communication before us right now, if in time of high rains and the sewer system backs up, that is an indication that there is leakage into the sewer system, that the sewer system is filling with water from the outside of the pipes. That is a serious problem of maintenance usually and I think it could be appropriate to have it as an agenda COUNCIL MEETING 34 JANUARY 12, 2017 item in open session to ask the Wastewater Division about it. If we can schedule that, that would be useful. Council Chair Rapozo: How is the agenda next week for the Committee Meeting? Not that bad? Why do we not schedule the open session next week, and then we will do the Executive Session item in the next Council Meeting. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you, Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: Any other discussion? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to refer C 2017-30, C 2017-31, C 2017-32, C 2017-33, C 2017-34, and C 2017-35 to the Office of the County Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the Council was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item. COMMITTEE REPORTS: PUBLIC WORKS / PARKS & RECREATION COMMITTEE: A report (No. CR-PWPR 2017-05) submitted by the Public Works / Parks & Recreation Committee, recommending that the following be Received for the Record: "PWPR 2017-04 Communication (12/28/2016) from Council Chair Rapozo, requesting the presence of the Acting County Engineer, to provide a briefing on the Kaua`i Community Recycling Services, Inc. (KCRS) contract and the temporary closure of the HI5 redemption centers operated by KCRS," A report (No. CR-PWPR 2017-06) submitted by the Public Works / Parks & Recreation Committee, recommending that the following be Received for the Record: "PWPR 2017-03 Communication (12/05/2016) from Council Chair Rapozo, requesting the presence of the Acting County Engineer, to provide an update on the Lepeuli Fencing Project," Councilmember Yukimura moved for approval of the reports, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony? I just want to make a comment on CR-PWPR 2017-05. The last couple of days, I have been sent some E-mails from some businesses that are having a very, very difficult time working with the recyclables. I had been assured by the Department of Public Works that everything had been resolved in an E-mail that said, "It is all under control," yet yesterday I receive a couple of E-mails from Reynolds—anyway, it is a concern and it is a problem. I will chat with the Committee Chair at some point COUNCIL MEETING 35 JANUARY 12, 2017 today, but I am leaning towards putting it right back on agenda, because obviously there are some issues and the issues are impacting the public. The issues are impacting the people that we are struggling to get the word out. We spent a lot of money on our recycling campaign, and yet we cannot fulfill our side of this recycling program. So you may see it up in the next committee as well. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Yes, I would concur with the other Lihu`e site closed in our current...where Kaua`i Community Recycling Services (KCRS) operates, with that recycling HI-5 closed, if Reynolds has problems then it is disastrous. There are countless numbers of individuals that do HI-5 recycling like it is their job and if you shut that down, it would be a crisis on the island. I would advise that we put it on as soon as possible. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Is it Reynolds that is the main complainant or are there others as well? Council Chair Rapozo: There are others. Yesterday, I received an E-mail from Reynolds and an E-mail from Garden Isle Disposal as well. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: I guess what my concern is not so much with the businesses, but it is the trickle-down effect that when it is not flowing and people get turned away from dropping off their recyclables and there is no real mechanism of getting that notice out, so you drive...because everything else is closed...so you drive your stuff in and it is like, "Sorry, we are at capacity." That is not working. It is just bad. Councilmember Yukimura: Is it glass mainly? Council Chair Rapozo: It is all recyclables. It has come to the point where they are turning away all recyclables and I believe it is a breach of contract, number one, but that is a legal issue that is going to have to be determined. I think going forward with this new Council, we just have to have it all on the floor. I am tired of being told one thing here and then finding out later that that is not exactly what is happening, and then having to E-mail and get a response, "Oops, yes, we messed up. But we corrected it." Then hear later that is not true and that it has not been corrected. As we did with the moving of the...did you see how quick they moved the Kapa'a Police Substation building when we told them that it is going to be on the agenda every two (2) weeks. You saw it moved before the next meeting. Unfortunately, maybe that is the strategy that this body has to place now, like a babysitter threatening some discipline to get things done. If that is what we need to do, Councilmember Kagawa, I think it goes right back to what you are saying about the sewer thing and maybe that is what we have to do until we get voluntary compliance on their side. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. COUNCIL MEETING 36 JANUARY 12, 2017 There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion for approval of the reports was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please. PLANNING COMMITTEE: A report (No. CR-PL 2017-01) submitted by the Planning Committee, recommending that the following be Approved on second and final reading: "Bill No. 2634 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 8, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, TO ALLOW MULTIPLE FAMILY DWELLING UNITS IN ALL RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS (Kauai County Council, Applicant)," Councilmember Kaneshiro moved for approval of the reports, seconded by Councilmember Chock. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion for approval of the report was then put, and unanimously carried. PUBLIC SAFETY & TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: A report (No. CR-PST 2017-02) submitted by the Public Safety & Transportation Committee, recommending that the following be Approved: "C 2017-06 Communication (10/20/2016) from the Fire Chief, requesting Council approval of the indemnification language contained in State Lease No. DOT-A-16-0005, to release and indemnify the State of Hawai`i Department of Transportation Airports Division," Councilmember Yukimura moved for approval of the reports, seconded by Councilmember Kagawa. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion for approval of the report was then put, and unanimously carried. COUNCIL MEETING 37 JANUARY 12, 2017 RESOLUTIONS: Resolution No. 2017-09 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL APPOINTMENT TO THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION (Donnell F. Ramos): Councilmember Chock moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-09, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Roll call. The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-09 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carries. Thank you. Next item. Resolution No. 2017-10 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL APPOINTMENT TO THE COST CONTROL COMMISSION (Preston I. S. Chong): Councilmember Yukimura moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-10, seconded by Councilmember Chock. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Roll call. The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-10 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 7, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carries. Thank you. Next item. COUNCIL MEETING 38 JANUARY 12, 2017 Resolution No. 2017-11 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL APPOINTMENT TO THE LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION (Maryanne W. Kusaka): Councilmember Yukimura moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-11, seconded by Councilmember Chock. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Roll call. The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-11 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 7, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carries. Thank you. Next item. Resolution No. 2017-12 — RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 2016-53, APPROVING THE LIMA OLA WORKFORCE HOUSING PROJECT PURSUANT TO SECTION 201H-38, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES: Councilmember Kagawa moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-12, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion? Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: So this is a Resolution to amend for the purposes of changing the tax key. Council Chair Rapozo: Correct. From Parcel 27 to Parcel 54. Councilmember Yukimura: Right. Council Chair Rapozo: It is just housekeeping. Councilmember Yukimura: Yes. I voted against the substance of the Resolution and I still take that position. Even though this is an amendment, I am just thinking for the record that it is better if I just reflect my original vote. I do not have a problem with amending the tax key, but I am just a little bit in quandary to how to vote in terms of the record. I am just explaining that. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Again, this is just a housekeeping measure. We need to make it right. You are actually voting on whether or not we COUNCIL MEETING 39 JANUARY 12, 2017 should make the Resolution correct, versus the substance of the Resolution, if that helps? Councilmember Yukimura: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: I feel your pain where you are not supportive of the substance, but how do you vote on the correction? I think that is two (2) separate matters. You are last on the roll call, so you can think about it. Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Any other discussion? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Roll call. The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-12 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Rapozo TOTAL — 6, AGAINST ADOPTION: Yukimura TOTAL — 1, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Six (6) ayes and one (1) no. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Next item. Resolution No. 2017-13 — RESOLUTION APPROVING A NOMINATION TO FILL AN UNEXPIRED TERM ON THE WESTERN INTERSTATE REGION BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017: Councilmember Chock moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-13, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: For the public's information, this is for Hawai`i Island representative Dru Kanuha. Maybe next time we can put the name on the posting or something so that the public understands that it is not affecting us and that it is Hawai`i Island, but that it has to be approved statewide. With that, any discussion or public testimony? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Roll call. COUNCIL MEETING 40 JANUARY 12, 2017 The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2017-13 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. With that, we do not have to take a caption break until 11:30 a.m., but I am not sure how long this item is going to be. Do you anticipate...I was not here for the Committee portion, do you think it is going to go quick? Okay, let us go to it then. BILL FOR SECOND READING: Bill No. 2634 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 8, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, TO ALLOW MULTIPLE FAMILY DWELLING UNITS IN ALL RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS (Kauai County Council, Applicant): Councilmember Chock moved to approve Bill No. 2634 on second and final reading, and that it be transmitted to the Mayor for his approval, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion? Public testimony? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Roll call. The motion to approve Bill No. 2634 on second and final reading, and that it be transmitted to the Mayor for his approval, and carried by the following vote: FOR APPROVAL: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 7, AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. That is the end of the formal, open agenda. With that, can you read us into the last two (2) Executive Sessions, please? EXECUTIVE SESSION: ES-883 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(2), 92-5(a)(4), and Kaua`i County Charter Section 3.07(E), the Office of the COUNCIL MEETING 41 JANUARY 12, 2017 County Attorney, on behalf of the Kaua`i County Council, requests an Executive Session to brief the Council on matters regarding the Notice of Violation and Order (NOVO) from the State of Hawai`i Department of Health, Clean Water Branch for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit related violations and penalties at four (4) refuse transfer stations, and related matters. This briefing and consultation involves the consideration of the powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and/or liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this agenda item. ES-889 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(4), and Kaua`i County Charter Section 3.07(E), on behalf of the Council, the Office of the County Attorney requests an Executive Session with the Council to provide the Council with a briefing regarding the claims filed against the County of Kaua`i by Bacon Universal Company, Inc., and related matters. This briefing and consultation involves the consideration of the powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and/or liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this agenda item. Councilmember Kagawa moved to convene in Executive Session for ES-883 and ES-889, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro. Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Are we planning to have the Department of Public Works, the Acting County Engineer, or the Solid Waste Division here for ES-883? Council Chair Rapozo: Yes, for both ES-883 and ES-889. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: I do not see them here, but I am assuming that they are close by. Are they here? Any further discussion? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Roll call. The motion to convene in Executive Session for ES-883 and ES-889 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 7, AGAINST EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. COUNCIL MEETING 42 JANUARY 12, 2017 Council Chair Rapozo: That concludes our open agenda items for today. We have a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. With that, we will adjourn this meeting and reconvene in Executive Session in ten (10) minutes. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the Council Meeting adjourned at 11:01 a.m. Respectfully submitted, III V JAD I . FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA County Clerk :cy