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REPORT OF THE <br /> COMMITTEE GN PLANNING <br /> DATE: January 19, 2021 Re: Comm. No. 44 <br /> PLACE: Council Chambers <br /> Hilo, Hawai'i <br /> TIME: 2:31 p.m. <br /> Council Chair and Members <br /> Ilawai'i County Council <br /> Hilo, Hawaii 96720 <br /> Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Communication 44, reports as follows: <br /> Communication No. 44, transmitted by Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated December 11, 2020, <br /> nominates Zendo Kern as Planning Director. <br /> Zendo Kern is a lifelong resident of Hawaii County, and has more than 20 years of planning <br /> experience as a consultant. He has held a myriad of executive and managerial roles in the private <br /> sector, where he oversaw construction, planning, and property management projects island wide. <br /> If confirmed, Mr. Kern will serve a term as Director of the Planning Department, co-terminus <br /> with Mayor Roth, which will end December 2, 2024. <br /> Managing Director and Acting-Mayor Lee Lord introduced Mr. Kern and provided background <br /> information on the hiring and selection process. He emphasized that Mr. Kern met all <br /> requirements for Planning Director, and received unanimous support from the hiring panel. <br /> Mr. Lord called upon William (Bill)Brilhante, Director of Human Resources, to address the <br /> committee's concerns that Mr. Kern is not qualified. <br /> Mr. Brilhante said that he was asked to conduct an unofficial assessment of Mr. Kern's <br /> qualifications as they pertain to the requirements listed in Article VI, Chapter 7, Section 6-7.2 of <br /> the Charter. He expressed that the Charter's language is vague around the words "reasonable" <br /> and "responsible;"however, general requirements were used to assess that Mr. Kern is qualified. <br /> Committee Members Rebecca Villegas stressed that this is an unofficial opinion, and, with <br /> Committee Member Heather Kimball, expressed concerns regarding the hiring process and asked <br /> for the identities of selection panel members. Mr. Lord responded that they will ask the hiring <br /> panel members for their consent to publicly disclose their identities. <br /> Two members of the hiring panel, Ken Van Bergen and Craig Takamine, were in attendance to <br /> speak on behalf of the hiring process; to which they reiterated the fact that Mr. Kern was <br /> unanimously chosen as the best and most qualified candidate. There were zero objections to his <br /> selection for the Planning Director position. <br /> PC Report No.: 2 <br />