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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/01/2023 Special Council minutes (C-2023-48, C-2023-49, Res 2023-26, Res 2023-27) SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 1, 2023 The Special Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by Council Vice Chair KipuKai Kuali`i at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 8:30 a.m., after which the following Members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Addison Bulosan Honorable Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. Honorable Felicia Cowden Honorable Bill DeCosta Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable KipuKai Kuali`i Excused: Honorable Mel Rapozo APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Councilmember Carvalho moved for approval of the agenda, as circulated, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Is there anyone in the public wishing to testify? Seeing none. Members, is there any discussion? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion for approval of the agenda, as circulated, was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Council Chair Rapozo was excused). Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Clerk, could you please read the next item? JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: Vice Chair, the next item is the report of the credentials committee. REPORT OF THE CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i I would like to report that the Credentials Committee met and that the credentials of Councilmember Ross Kagawa are in order. Given that the credentials are in order, we will now recess the Special Council Meeting for a few minutes and Councilmember Kagawa will be sworn in. There being no objections, the Council recessed at 8:32 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:33 a.m., and proceeded as follows: 1 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 2 MARCH 1, 2023 Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Clerk, please read the agenda items on the Consent Calendar. CONSENT CALENDAR: C 2023-48 Communication (02/23/2023) from Council Chair Rapozo, transmitting for Council consideration, a Resolution Repealing Resolution No. 2023- 02 And Adopting The Rules Of The Kaua`i County Council For The Organization Of Committees And The Transaction Of Business. C 2023-49 Communication (02/23/2023) from Council Chair Rapozo, transmitting for Council consideration, a Resolution Repealing Resolution No. 2023- 03 And Appointing The Chairpersons, Vice Chairpersons, And Members Of The Several Standing Committees Of The Kaua`i County Council. Councilmember Carvalho moved to receive C 2023-48 and C 2023-49 for the record, and seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Do we have anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify? Do you want to testify on the Resolution or on an agenda item? MAUNA KEA TRASK: Mauna Kea Trask, on behalf of myself. I actually want to speak on the Credentials. I guess I missed it, but if I could speak real quick. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Okay. I will suspend the rules. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. Mr. Trask: Thank you. I would just like to thank the Council for doing the right thing and appointing Councilmember Kagawa last week. I watched the meeting online and it was really contentious, but I think... again, you did the right thing. I would like to specifically thank Councilmember Cowden, the sole woman on this body, for recognizing that she is the representative of women here, and she is totally capable of doing that. Also recognizing that democracy is what matters—the votes are what matters. I would like to specifically thank Council Vice Chair Kuali`i and Councilmember Carvalho, native Hawaiians on this body who are supremely capable of representing myself, as a native Hawaiian, and the native Hawaiian community. And I would like to thank Councilmember DeCosta for making the motion to appoint Councilmember Kagawa. You know, a lot has been said in the community about... I heard it before regarding the vote and I have read about it, about the "Good Old Boy" network. I am here to tell you today the definition of the "Good Old Boy" network is "a male who embodies the unsophisticated good fellowship and sometimes boisterous sociability regarded as typical of white males of small towns and rural areas of the south United States." There is no "Good Old Boy" network in Hawaii, at all. "Good Old Boy" network is a dog whistle to put down the local community who have been here before 1970, let us say. There is no "Good Old SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 3 MARCH 1, 2023 Boy" network, because what is called the "Good Old Boy" network is actually a group, a diverse group of different races and ages, of Filipinos, Hawaiians, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, that came together after World War II and actually took power from the first time against the last vestiges of what was a corrupt "Good Old Boy" network that overthrew the monarch kingdom. I would like to say that I am very confident and optimistic about this Council to do the right thing and to move us forward. Some people think you cannot, I know you can, because this body will do the "bread and butter," simple things in order to help the people and the County of Kaua`i. They will leave the state issues, the federal issues, the international issues alone, and work on housing, work on parks, work on roads, and land use to support the local community. So with that, thank you for your time, I will not take too much, but I appreciate it and mahalo to you all. Aloha. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Thank you, Mauna Kea. Are there any clarifying questions? Councilmember Cowden: Clarifying questions? No, I thought it was clear. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Is there anyone else wishing to testify? Seeing none. There being no further public testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Members, the motion before us is to receive the Consent Calendar items. The motion to receive C 2023-48 and C 2023-49 for the record was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Council Chair Rapozo was excused). Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Motion is carried. Clerk, next item, please. RESOLUTIONS: Resolution No. 2023-26 — RESOLUTION REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2023-02 AND ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE KAUAI COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF COMMITTEES AND THE TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Members, you will note that this Resolution repeals our previous rules resolution, by moving the responsibility of the Operating and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Budget from the Finance and Economic Development Committee to the Committee of the Whole. Could I get a motion to approve and a second? Councilmember Carvalho moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2023-26, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 4 MARCH 1, 2023 Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Are there any questions? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I think you just said it, but I just want to make sure it is clear and clear for everyone, and to thank Allison, our staff person, because when you replace an entire set of rules, so we do not have the underscoring or the brackets, it is hard to know where things were changed. I want to acknowledge that the people on page 7, this pretty much is all just about budget, right? That we are going to put all seven (7) of us on the Finance and Economic Development Committee and that when we are doing the budget, it is going to be handled by the Committee of the Whole, rather than the Finance and Economic Development Committee. I am fine with it, but I am curious, since we are doing it in the Committee of the Whole, and all seven (7) of us are on the Committee of the Whole, why we made the change for the Finance and Economic Development Committee. Why was the change necessary? Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: I think it was, more or less, Chair Rapozo's prerogative and the budget has been handled in the Committee of the Whole in the past, and I think Chair Rapozo was trying to disperse out or share some of that responsibility in an earlier Organizational Meeting by putting that with the Finance and Economic Development Committee. But still, even then, the change then was to put all seven (7) members, so all seven (7) members are voting on the budget in committee, regardless. But this, what we are doing today, is bringing it back to the Committee of the Whole. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Are there any further questions, while the rules are still suspended? Anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to give public testimony? If not, roll call vote. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2023-26 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i TOTAL — 6, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Rapozo TOTAL— 1, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa Six (6) ayes. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i Clerk, next item. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 5 MARCH 1, 2023 Resolution No. 2023-27 — RESOLUTION REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2023-03 AND APPOINTING THE CHAIRPERSONS, VICE CHAIRPERSONS, AND MEMBERS OF THE SEVERAL STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE KAUAI COUNTY COUNCIL Councilmember Cowden moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2023-27, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: This Resolution inserts Councilmember Kagawa's name in the committees that former Councilmember Evslin was a member of. Councilmember Kagawa will now be the Chairperson of the Finance and Economic Development Committee and the Vice Chairperson of the Planning Committee. Members, are there any questions? While the rules are suspended, do we have anyone in the audience or on Zoom signed up to give public testimony? Seeing no one, I would like to call the meeting back to order. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Members, is there any further discussion? Councilmember Cowden: Can I say something? Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Sure, absolutely. Councilmember Cowden: Ross, it is nice to have you back. Are you good with this? Councilmember Kagawa: Yes, I had discussed the budget issue with Council Chair Rapozo. Coming in three (3) months into the term, I felt a little bit overwhelmed taking the budget when I missed three (3) months and two (2) years before that, you know, away. I think Council Chair Rapozo said that he felt comfortable taking it over as former Council Chair Kaneshiro had, and I said that I would be willing to take the budget next year, and this year I will closely monitor the duties of the Chair of the Finance and Economic Development Committee so, as much as I can, I will shadow Council Chair Rapozo this year. Councilmember Cowden: Thank you. I respect that response. It is a very big thing to walk in and three (3) weeks later handle the budget, right? But obviously you have the opportunity to be a big part of it and I think it is incumbent on the rest of us that we really engage heavily because of our Council Chair Rapozo who has come in like a ball of fire, he has been really doing a very good job. I am sorry he is not here today, but he has been gone for four (4) years too. So, we are coming in and the budget is really critically important and I both respect that you had the votes, but also respect the fact that you have done eight (8) budgets. And for the public, the budget is not very typical, of like a private sector budget anyway, so it takes a little bit to learn and to do it, so thank you. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 6 MARCH 1, 2023 Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: Are there any other members? Ross, I just want to say welcome and thank you for your flexibility in making today pretty easy. Just being willing to step in where former Councilmember Evslin created the vacancies, so thank you for being willing to serve in that way. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i: With no further discussion, roll call vote. The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2023-27 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i TOTAL— 6, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Rapozo TOTAL— 1, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa Six (6) ayes. Council Vice Chair Kuali`i Okay. That concludes the business on our agenda, and not seeing or hearing any objections, this meeting is now adjourned. ADJOURNMENT. There being no further business, the Special Council Meeting adjourned at 8:43 a.m. Respectfully submitted, q)11) ---JADEOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA County Clerk :ss