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<br /> <br /> The other commissioners agreed it would be good to send the letter off now, and then <br />follow up with another version of it early next year. <br /> <br /> Commissioner McIntosh said the letter needed some minor edits to clean it up, and <br />Chair Pequeño asked him to send him the changes so they could finalize it and have it sent out. <br /> <br /> Commissioner Gaffney said he felt it would be best to send individual letters to each <br />council member and the mayor, rather than have them all addressed in one letter, and Chair <br />Pequeño agreed. <br /> <br /> Chair Pequeño said Councilmember Villegas just sent a chat message to inform them <br />that progress is being made with an ESCO partnership, and the scope of work is being worked <br />on by Research and Development. There is a training coming up about ESCO financing practices <br />and protocols. If any commissioners are interested, they should provide their contact <br />information to her. <br /> <br /> Chair Pequeño asked if there was anyone present who was unable to testify earlier and <br />would like to do so now. Jerome Warren responded he was present and would like to. Chair <br />Pequeño told him to go ahead and that he would have three minutes to testify per agenda <br />item. <br /> <br />2 <br /> Jerome Warren: I had to come home and call up on my land line. I was down at Sandra <br />Demoruelle’s, but we were shut out. Anyhow, I’m testifying on two items. They’re both on the <br />director’s report, item 1a and—it’s both under wastewater—items 1A and 4J. So item 1A, notice <br />of apparent violation. This relates to the Nāālehu sewer spill on Milo Road and the false report ʻ <br />of 70 gallons. The Board of Ethics helped bring this report malfeasance to the attention of the <br />Department of Health. Director Kucharski asked for a closed Board of Ethics hearing. This keeps <br />the public in the dark, which creates mistrust and disrespect, not only for the government, but <br />for the environment itself. The Board of Ethics was also interested in the abandoned house and <br />the illegal junkyard across the street from the sewer spill. The false spill report will be further <br />investigated at their October hearing. This should not be a closed hearing. That’s it for that <br />one. Also on the director’s report, wastewater, item 4J, and here’s another contractor. There is <br />always a secret romance in every purchasing department. Let me repeat that. There is always a <br />secret romance in every purchasing department. The seductress is the employee, and the <br />seducer is the outside salesperson. The outside salesperson brings gifts, and the employee <br />accepts them for their own personal use. Then the employee favors that salesperson. Believe <br />me, I’ve seen this ad nauseam in my own employment, and I’ve been the receiver of gifts. These <br />gifts are kickbacks. This scenario is called graft or corruption. Governments must raise taxes to <br />pay for these clandestine relationships. The Department of Environmental Management has <br />been full of these scenarios ever since wastewater and solid waste was taken out of Public <br />Works. The first example was the cost per ton of solid waste. It immediately went from $25 to <br />$50 a ton. One current example is the boondoggle with the Nāālehu sewer project. The newest ʻ <br /> <br />2 <br /> Minutes in italics are verbatim. <br />5 <br /> <br />