2021-07-15 Leeward Exh E (Comm 183)

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"I'm hoping you've already heard about our Leeward Planning Commission hearing this past Thursday, but in case you haven't, I wanted to express my concern. Yesterday's LPC hearing was what I had anticipated. The Leeward Planning Commission struggled all day to move the agenda forward. Commissioner Van Pernis was unprofessional, rude, combative, got into arguments with applicants, spoke over applicants,pointed fingers and was not interested in working through the process to find common ground." Anyway, that's how Keith feels also. These are the, these are your Chairs. And I was on the CDP for many years and chaired it, and it's very difficult to run a meeting and have to manage someone the whole time where you are trying to have a meeting. So these are just some of the reasons why this is how I feel. But I am really looking forward to seeing how everybody else on the commission feels. So, thank you. VITOUSEK: Thank you. Okay, any other commissioners? Discussion? (No response) I'd like to say that when this originally came up for action by the corporation counsel [sic], I did not necessarily support the removal of Commissioner Van Pernis. I wanted to give him the opportunity to correct his behavior, and we initiated some corrective action, worked with him to accommodate any, any ADA issues, to give him the best chance for success. It wasn't until after we did the effort to provide retraining, to provide updated ADA compliance procedure where he can submit in writing, and he continued the behavior that many of us find inappropriate, that I thought, you know, I don't know what other recourse we have. In looking at the testimony from Commissioner Van Pernis, specifically, item VII says, "At no time did a previous or present Chairperson invoke Robert's Rules of Order to object for decorum, or rule any question or statement out of order, or use the rules to punish or discipline my 2020 and early 2021 activity." And that's just outright false, I mean, that's documented to be false. I provide a list of incidents where behavior was addressed: February 2020 meeting, repeated interruptions and hostile questioning of an applicant led Corporation Counsel Malia Hall to declare your questioning out of order and state that"If you are not going to act in a civil manner, we are going to ask you to leave,"to which you responded to Corporation Counsel, "I think you are out of order;" At the February 2020 meeting, there was a personal attack on an applicant, Brian Cook, when asked if he had ever declared, if he had ever personally declared, bankruptcy. The applicant asked, "Why so personal?" And the chair asked you to refrain from personal attacks; September 21, 2020, Cross-examination style questions of members of the public testifying on a Special Permit application. You asked, "Are you aware that this application violates state land use regulations?" The applicant stated they believed you were asking leading questions that prevented a fair and impartial discussion. And your questions were deemed unduly repetitious by Chair Carr Smith; On August 20'', Commissioner Van Pernis's questioning of traffic engineer Randall Okaneku was deemed to be unduly repetitious by Chair Carr Smith; 9 EXHIBIT E