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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/11/2011 Special Council MeetingSPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING April 11, 2011 The Special Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kauai was called to order by Council Chair Jay Furfaro at the Council. Chambers, 3371 -A Wilcox Road, Li1hu`e, Kauai, on Monday, April 11, 2011 at 4:50 p.m., after which the following members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Tim Bynum Honorable Dickie Chang Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura Honorable Mel Rapozo Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Jay Furfaro, Council Chair PETER A. NAKAMURA, County Clerk: Six present, Mr. Chair. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Pursuant to Section 3.05 of the Kauai County Charter, as amended, the purpose of this Special Council meeting is to appoint a successor for a vacant unexpired term on the Kauai County Council to serve until December 3, 2012. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. And the purpose of this agenda to be approved is actually a special council meeting. It is to appoint a successor to the vacant term that was occupied by Councilmember Kawakami. The term we're dealing with would expire on December 3, 2012 and I do want for the record to notice that I do have a signed copy of the resignation from the County Council for Mr. Kawakami, who has succeeded Mina Morita in House District 14 in the House of Representatives as appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie. So on that note, I have confirmation that the appropriate notice is given for this meeting. I would also like to make reference to Article 3 of the Kauai County Charter which identifies the qualifications to be eligible for a council position. A person must be a citizen of the United States and must have been duly qualified in the electorate of the county for the past two years immediately preceding that election. And on that note, we will refer to that procedure for a second posting, which will refer to a credential process which will happen tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. So that is where we're at on those two items. Now for the members, I would like to indicate to you I have passed out some procedural pieces that I will read from for the purpose of the audience and deals with the process for the nomination of a candidate to fill the county vacancy on the county council. And these guidelines, I'm going to ask for a motion to approve and second. First of all, nominations from the council will be taken one name at a time. All nominations must be seconded. After a nomination and a second, I will take public testimony for those who wish to speak on the person that was nominated at that time. After public testimony is taken, the council will be called back to order and we, in fact, will discuss that nomination. After the council discussion, a roll call vote will be taken on that nomination. If a nomination receives four (4) votes, it will be considered that a selection and consideration had been made. If four (4) votes are not received, the council will then move to a second nomination from its members and then we would repeat that sequence. So members, are you all clear on the process that I just went through? For the purposes of what I just discussed, I'd like a motion and a second to approve this procedure. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 2 - April 11, 2011 Mr. Chang moved to approve the process for nomination of candidates to fill the council vacancy as described by Chair Furfaro, seconded by Mr. Bynum. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Is there any discussion from members? Councilwoman Yukimura. Ms. Yukimura: (Inaudible.) Council Chair Furfaro: We have two mikes out on this side of the table; we're going to take a technical break. I'll recognize you when we come back. Thank you. There being no objection, the meeting was recessed at 4:55 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 4:56 p.m., and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Furfaro: Councilwoman, you have the floor. Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just by way of explanation, I want to say that it's the county charter that defines what happens when there's a sudden vacancy in- between elections, and the charter does not specify the process. And so here the chair is proposing a process that we will all vote on. I just want to say that the charter does require that the council act within 30 days of the vacancy and at least for myself, you know we could do another process which is more extended where we would take applications, and I have to say I'm very grateful for the people who have applied, who show an interest in participating in government who are very upstanding citizens and they've applied by writing a letter of intent to us. And if we were to choose another process, one alternative is to do interviews and take a more extended time, but we have a limited time. We have three weeks of budget hearings every day of the week except for our regular council and committee meetings and so there is not a lot of time. And so this proposal is that we would make the selection today based on whatever criteria we feel are important at this time. I believe the charter allows us to do this and given the circumstances, this is an acceptable way of proceeding. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, Vice Chair Yukimura, and thank you for pointing out that we have a limited amount of time. If not, it would then go to the mayor if we should not come up with a replacement. And I also want to echo those of you that have expressed interest through a letter of interest and those of you who have submitted resumes, it is much appreciated that you have stepped forward to show your interest in guiding our county. Any further dialogue from the members? If not, I'm going to ask for a roll call vote on the procedure and process for... For the purpose of housekeeping, we're going to do another approval of the agenda. We may have had some mike problems at the time. Okay, so Mr. Clerk, go right ahead. PETER A. NAKAMURA, County Clerk: If we could get a motion to approve the agenda. Mr. Chang moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Mr. Bynum. Ms. Yukimura: Wait, I'm sorry there's a main motion pending, but we're... all of that is not in order because we... SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 3 - April 11, 2011 Council Chair Furfaro: We wanted to get the agenda approved. Mr. Nakamura: I think what we're asking is just ... I think right prior to a motion to approve the agenda was being made, we ran into a technical problem and so... Ms. Yukimura: Can we have the people who made the motion to approve this process just withdraw their motion so that we can start. Council Chair Furfaro: Very good. Mr. Nakamura: That would be Councilmember Chang. Mr. Chang: I withdraw my motion. Mr. Nakamura: Councilmember Bynum would have been the second. Mr. Bynum: I withdraw my second. Mr. Chang withdrew his motion to approve the process for nomination of candidates to fill the council vacancy as described by Chair Furfaro, followed by Mr. Bynum withdrawing his second. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. For clarification for the audience, we had a technical problem about the time we were taking an approval of the agenda. So now I'm looking for a motion to approve the agenda. Mr. Chang moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. Mr. Clerk. Mr. Nakamura: I think we're back now, Mr. Chair, that you asked for a motion to approve the process for nomination of candidates to fill the council vacancy. Mr. Rapozo moved to approve the process for nomination of candidates to fill the council vacancy as described by Chair Furfaro, seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. Okay, now members, at this point again I'll point that I'll be open for nominations for the replacement based on the rules that we approved and I will be looking for a second so that in fact we can take public testimony. Mr. Bynum. Mr. Bynum: I nominate KipuKai Kuali`i. Ms. Yukimura: I second the motion. Mr. Bynum nominated KipuKai Kuali`i to fill the council vacancy, seconded by Ms. Yukimura. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 4 - April 11, 2011 Council Chair Furfaro: Okay, so we have a motion to approve Mr. KipuKai Kuali`i and a second by Councilwoman Yukimura. On that note, may I see it by the hands of how many people wish to testify on this item? Okay, I will close that floor. Okay, I see two. Please step forward Mr. Taylor. Be ready to speak next, and again, you're speaking on the nomination of Mr. KipuKai Kuali`i. There being no objection, the rules were suspended. KEN TAYLOR: Right. Thank you, Chair and Members of the Council. My name is Ken Taylor. I strongly believe that if you go back to November's election you'll find that KipuKai was number eight in the process and I strongly believe that you should support his nomination. I believe that if numbers would have been a little different, he might have been sitting there already. And so I think it's only appropriate and I speak as a candidate in the last election. So I feel very strong that it should be the eighth person moved up to fill the vacant seat. Thank you. Council Chair Furfaro: Please come right up. Introduce yourself. MARY MAHELANI SILVA: Mahalo. For the record my name is Mary Mahelani Silva and I support the previous speaker —what was your name again — Ken Taylor's testimony in regards to supporting KipuKai Kuali`i for the nomination. As it was, he was the eighth candidate and true, he would have been sitting here if he would have been seventh. So, that and also that KipuKai Kuali`i is a kanaka maoli. Also he has been invested and has the support of many, not only kanaka but many people in the community. He stays in touch with the community even though for the past two elections he hasn't been appointed. But he stays in, touch with the community. He serves the community, and he has the support of many members of the community, so based on that. Mahalo. Thank you. Council Chair Furfaro: Based on that note, is there anyone else that would like to testify? Okay, I had asked about testimony earlier. I saw two hands. Now we ... we need to get a list out for people who want to testify. Please come up and sign up here if you want to testify on the nomination of Mr. KipuKai Kuali`i. If you can hold one moment, my dear, while we get settled down. Sign up and give your sign -up card to my staff. Okay, I'm going to assume that those of you that have gone and signed up, we'll call you in the order that you signed up, but I will close that process right now. On that note, I'm going to go ahead and give you the floor, please. CHERYL LOVELL- OBATAKE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the record, my name is Cheryl Lovell - Obatake. I'm from the Puna District of Nawiliwili. I would like to support the nomination of Kuali`i and I would support the previous speakers. I think it's the order that he should be selected because he's the number eight from the time of the race and I thank you for your time. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Could you read me the next number and those are the sign -up sheets. Could you read me the next individual that wishes to testify, Mr. Clerk? Mr. Nakamura: Next speaker is Linda Estes, followed by Alice Parker. LINDA ESTES: My name is Linda Estes. I think there are lots of reasons that KipuKai will make a good member of this council. He's smart, he's educated, he's articulate, he's involved in a lot of activities on the island. He really SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 5 - April 11, 2011 cares about the island and the people of the island. And I will say one thing though, I would not be up here speaking on his behalf if he hadn't come in eighth. Thank you. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Mr. Nakamura: Next speaker is Alice Parker, followed by Elli Ward. ALICE PARKER: Alice Parker and I also want to support KipuKai Kuali`i because he has a wide business background, he's invested a lot of time and energy and intelligence in the community. The people showed they had strong support for him and he understands Kauai and Hawaiian things and I think he'd be a strong member for the council and a good resource. Thank you. Council. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Next speaker, Mr. Clerk. Mr. Nakamura: Next speaker is Elli Ward, followed by James Trujillo. ELLI WARD: Thank you. My name is Elli Ward. I support KipuKai K.uali`i and I support what has been said so far, I agree with that. And I would also like to add that I've known KipuKai for about four years now and I've seen him under pressure and he's always been respectful, well- spoken, kind o£..someone with a genuinely good heart and he's respectful of the Hawaiian culture and. for me that's very important because after all we're in Hawaii. And also the other thing is not only is he intelligent and articulate, he's also a man of. integrity. So please pick him. He is the people's choice. Thousands of people have voted for him, so that should carry a great weight in your choice. Thank you. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Next speaker, Mr. Clerk. Mr. Nakamura: Next speaker is James Trujillo, followed by Mary Mulhall. JAMES GERARD TRUJILLO: James Gerard Trujillo for the record. Thanks for allowing me to speak on behalf of the nomination of KipuKai Kuali`i for council. We're excited that this opportunity comes up for Mr. Kuali`i and for the council as a qualified gentleman. I think the fact remains that number eight should be number seven. As you guys vote, take that into consideration. His experience, his desire to serve, and the fact that so many people are in support of this nomination, I think, is good reason to name him as the number seven man. Thank you. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Mr. Nakamura: Last registered speaker is Mary Mulhall. MARY MULHALL: Council, this is going to sound like a broken record, but I support KipuKai Kuah'i because... oh, my name is Mary Mulhall and I support KipuKai Kuali`i because he came in eighth. I think that really makes perfect sense for him to be on the council now. I think you folks will find him good to work with. My impression of him is that he will work with you and he represents the Hawaiian community and all the rest of the community very well. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, Mary. Does that end our speakers, Mr. Clerk? SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 6 - April 11, 2011 Mr. Nakamura: No further registered speakers, Mr. Chair. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. And before I call our meeting back to order, I just want to point out two housekeeping items. The testimony has focused on finishing number eight. I understand that commentary, but I do want to share with you that in previous vacancies on the council, the last one after the passing of our beloved Mayor Baptiste, the selected candidate was number eight. But there is nothing binding to that and I'm just sharing that with you because when we had a runoff when Mr. Jerome Hew became the county clerk, the selection, I believe, was Mr. John Barretto, who had finished ninth in that (inaudible). And I just wanted to share that with you. Is there anyone that would like to speak on the process? If not, I'm going to call the meeting back to order. There being no one else wishing to speak, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Furfaro: We have a nomination by Mr. Bynum. We have a second by Vice Chair Yukimura. Members of the council, I am open for discussion at the table. Mr. Bynum. Mr. Bynum: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to say that this is an important decision for the council and there are a number of potential candidates that I would be proud to vote for that are competent. I don't think coming in eighth is the determining factor. It's a factor. And there are a number of people, like I said, that we could consider that would be a real asset to the council if we were to choose them. Having said that, I also believe that about KipuKai. I think he's a man that has strong values and I've gotten to know him watching him in two campaigns and during those campaigns he comported himself very well. He worked really hard. He did pretty much everything you would expect from a candidate. And particularly in this last election when we did candidate forums, I was impressed with his depth of knowledge and I think he's going to be a fine addition to the council. That's why I nominated him and I intend to vote for him, so. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Any further discussion from members? If not, I'm going to call ... oh, I'm sorry, okay. Which of you ladies would like to go first? Ms. Yukimura: All right, I will. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Council Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura, you have the floor. Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. As was pointed out, the charter does not require us to follow the election results. If it did, it would have so specified. It actually allows us to choose whatever process we think would be the best to follow. But I do believe that the electoral process deserves some weight. I would not follow it if the election results ... if the eighth vote getter was not qualified in some way. I think the charter gives us that discretion. But in the case of KipuKai Kuali`i, I think he's very well qualified. He's someone who was born and raised on this island, well educated at Immaculate Conception, at Kamehameha, and an honors student at the University of the Pacific. He is experienced in government and labor and non - profit administration. He's steeped in the Hawaiian culture and spirit, and that is something that is important to have on this council. He's gone through the hard work of campaigning all around the island, not once but twice. And that's a SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 7 - April 11, 2011 certain test in and of itself. He has shown that he really wants to serve and he's next in line. He's the one whom the voters wanted. He's also younger than many and I think it's time to cultivate and nurture the next generation. I mean we talked about a succession at today's hearing and in terms of county workers. And we need to cultivate and nurture and mentor those who are coming up. And I think KipuKai will make a very good addition to the council. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, Vice Chair Yukimura. Councilwoman Nakamura, the floor is yours. Ms. Nakamura: I think anyone who runs for public office, including everyone around this table, makes a personal sacrifice. It's a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of commitment. You put your neck on the line and KipuKai has done this twice. I'm going to vote for KipuKai not because he's number eight. I'm going to vote for him because based on all the different forums we attended together that I got to learn about him and his background and his vision for Kauai, and I was very impressed with what I learned. And so I will be supporting KipuKai's nomination. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, councilwoman. Any more discussion? Mr. Chang. Mr. Chang: Thank you very much. I'd like to first of all thank everybody that applied or put in their request to run. I understand we are going to keep this information confidential, I believe. However, what I wanted to say in respect to KipuKai, I did have a chance to chat with him as early as dinner last night as well as getting to know many of the other councilmembers. But you know everybody will say it's not a matter of who finished number eighth, ninth, tenth or what have you. It's just a matter, in my opinion, that when you run you're standing on the side of the road oftentimes in rain, in sun, in any kind of conditions you have, and then you walk the community and you meet the people and some people like you, some people don't like you, but you put yourself out in the front line, and there has to be a lot of respect for that. For me on a personal note, I saw KipuKai and his family and friends waving signs a lot and whenever you're breaking down your signs or you're going to forums, you're going to hug anybody, you know, whoever they are because you know they're going through the same thing as you are and if you don't have ... let's face it money or an army or everything else, I mean what really struck me is his mom and dad were with him all the time and I got a chance to go meet them and they must be very, very, very, proud because you keep trying, you keep trying, you keep trying. That says something for persistency. And everybody, I believe, sitting on this table understands how difficult it is to run on an election and especially in this day and age. You're not only talking about the newspaper or radio shows or everything else, I don't know, people are out there blogging, tweeting, whatever they do nowadays, but we don't know who's saying what. And we're just out there whether it's right, wrong or indifferent, we gotta take the blow. You know sometimes communication is not the way it is; however, I do respect KipuKai for that and as I mentioned last night, the interesting thing about it is it's not really about the hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, hard work running and hopefully winning. The hard, hard, hard, hard work is when you finally sit down here and sit down and realize that the hard, hard, hard, hard work is just beginning, so. I want to wish you well wishes, Mr. KipuKai. I am planning to vote for you and support you and I wish if it comes through that we all want to wish—well, I want to wish you all the best and look forward to working with you and trying my best to help you out on your endeavor. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 8 - April 11, 2011 Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, Mr. Chang. Mr. Rapozo. Mr. Rapozo: Thank you. I guess for everyone that's here, everybody can count. So it's safe to assume that KipuKai Kuali`i will be the next councilmember. I do want to say... (Applause.) Mr. Rapozo: It's not done yet. It's not done yet because believe me in politics anything can happen, I tell you what. But let me just say that I've .won some elections and I've lost a few, and after KipuKai 's last defeat, this most recent one, one of his first comments afterwards was to his supporters, which if any of you have never lost an election before, the worst thing is how you feel about your supporters because they work so hard. They go out there and they're out there every day with you and they work really, really hard, and when that stinking results come in and it's ... you neva make `em, you feel more hurt for your supporters. And KipuKai could've run and after two times he could have run and went for cover, but he stood up and he said, you know what, I'm looking for people to help me to run in the next election because I'm going to get the next election. And I'll never forget that because believe me it's not easy to campaign and all of that. It doesn't matter if you're number eight, number nine, number ten. I know a lot of people have ... we've received ... I don't know ... I must have received close to 200 emails in support of KipuKai Kuali`i. I don't know, it's just a lot. And although a lot of them said, hey, he was number eight, he's the next guy in line. I mean I can think of a lot of people that would be in number eight... that could have been in number eight that I would not have supported simply because I didn't think their heart was in the right place. For me, it's all about the heart and the desire to serve and let me say at this time that for the people that submitted their names and I see some of you in the audience, I gotta say thank you so much for stepping forward. It's a hard decision for me. This is not an easy decision for me simply because I know all of you so well and I think given an opportunity everybody can serve this county to a very good standard. But considering all the testimony that we received and considering the hard work that Mr. Kuali`i has put out in the last two election cycles, in fact we lost the same election twice just for different offices, so. I'll be supporting KipuKai Kuali`i today and looking forward to working with him, I'm hoping starting tomorrow because this budget is a mess and we need an extra seat in here to at least ... that extra set of eyes so. With that I want to say thank you all for coming here today. To the candidates that are here, thank you again for putting your name out because it's not an easy thing. And with that Mr. Chair, I thank you. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you, Mr. Rapozo. So I also want to say that when I do have a roll call vote here, I do want you to know there is another procedure yet to go. We posted a second special meeting for tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. and that will deal with some things that I will touch on after we take this vote and confirm what seems to be the feeling around the table. So I have a few more announcements, either we've gotten to that selection and/or we're going to revisit that selection. But I have to say I'm very proud of the people in the community that have stepped forward and have submitted their resumes. We have outstanding people in this community that really value our island and our sense of place here. And Kuali`i I would say, you bring those kinds of values to the table and absolutely want you to know that I will certainly be there to help you with anything around the table that I can should we come to that outcome. And I want you to know that there are some of us in our early sixties that know we have to pass the torch and we have term limits now as well that put us in a situation that for our beloved island we SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - 9 - April 11, 2011 have to be able to have people rotating on the council that give us continuity. I think I'm the first one to leave the council after next term if I'm selected, but that was the vote of the charter and we have to have that kind of continuity. So let me say I'm going to call the clerk to call the roll call, and then I have a few more things to share depending on that outcome. Mr. Nakamura: The motion is to- approve the nomination of KipuKai Kuali`i for the council vacancy. The motion to approve the nomination of KipuKai Kuali`i for the council vacancy was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR APPROVAL: Bynum, Chang, Nakamura, Rapozo, TOTAL — 6, Yukimura, Furfaro AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None. TOTAL — 0. Mr. Nakamura: Six ayes, Mr. Chair. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much, Mr. Clerk. We have a unanimous selection. (Applause.) Although Mr. Chang did mention that we circulated internally other people that have expressed interest in serving the County of Kauai, I would also like to have an equal round of applause for those that stepped forward. (Applause.) A couple notices here. First of all, we have a special council meeting posted for tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. or soon thereafter and this is actually the report of the credentials committee. This is verifying material associated with registration, residency, and so forth. Those three members of the credentials committee that have to make that report are made up of myself and Mr. Bynum, but I would like to nominate Mr. Rapozo to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Kawakami, who was the third member of the credentials committee. May I ask for a confirmation of that? Mr. Chang moved to nominate Mr. Rapozo to the Credentials Committee to fill the vacancy left by former Councilmember Kawakami, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you and I would also like to make notice, this is just public notice, that the purpose of tomorrow's meeting as posted is referencing the credentials committee and it is also referencing that the council, after confirmation of the credentials, will have to reorganize based on the chairmanship, vice chairmanship in committees that are left vacant by Mr. Kawakami. It is the policy of this council that each councilmember be at least the chairman of one committee and at least the vice chairman of one committee. So that is our business for tomorrow, confirming the credentials committee. On that note, Councilwoman Yukimura. Ms. Yukimura: Just a point of clarification. Assuming the credentials committee will make its report back on the qualifications, would you anticipate then there will be a swearing in at that meeting as well? Council Chair Furfaro: Yes. Ms. Yukimura: Okay, just so people know in case they want to attend. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING -10- April 11., 2011 Council Chair Furfaro: So we're all clear and I'm just following through again, this notice that I just read from that's posted, once the credentials committee actually does their report by the three members I so specified, we'll then move to a swearing in of that individual. We will have some discussion that that individual will participate in regarding the organization, and I believe with our restructuring on the table here, the seat that goes to the junior council person is the corner one, so. Mr. Rapozo, did you have something to add? Mr. Rapozo: Well I had a question and I guess this is more of a procedural process question. Is it possible for the credentials committee to meet earlier and have all of that stuff taken care of so that in fact ... if in fact the appointment is made and confirmed, then Mr. Kuali`i could participate earlier? Is that possible? Or we'd have to do the resolution of the rules first? Mr. Nakamura: I think... Council Chair Furfaro: I think I'll say this for you. Since I moved to have these posted according to the Sunshine Law, the law was... and the vision at that time was 4:30 p.m. Mr. Rapozo: Okay. Council Chair Furfaro: Should Mr. Kuali`i decide to sit in the audience, I will allow him to participate as much as he can. But we did post this for tomorrow 4,:30 p.m. giving the appropriate notice. If you want to expand on that, Mr. Clerk? Mr. Nakamura: No. Council Chair Furfaro: I hope that helps. Mr. Rapozo: That did, thank you. Council Chair Furfaro: And on that note, I'm looking for a motion to adjourn. Mr. Bynum moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much, this special meeting is complete. ADJOURNMENT. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. R ctfully submitted, PETER A. NAKAMURA County Clerk /wa