2022-02-16 EMC minutes draft - Laserfiche WebLink

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That assumes that the same five will show up at the next hearing, Deputy Corporation Counsel Wong said, and somebody might change his or her mind based on the information that's provided at the next hearing. So it's really hard to say. But she does agree that we should have all the commissioners, if possible, to show up at that next meeting. We've got one more round that gives us an opportunity to make the decision, and so we have an obligation to try to make that happen, Chair Adams said. Vice Chair Gaffney asked if there are other County boards and commissions that require the same level of majority vote that this Commission does. Deputy Corporation Counsel Wong said she was fairly sure all of the boards who have adjudicatory functions have similar rules, like Board of Appeals. They go through this all the time where they're either not able to make quorum or they don't have enough people. They have the same rule that applies, that they carry it over to the next meeting for a second and final vote on the merits. So this is not uncommon. It's just that we're just having a harder time finding availability among all eight commissioners. Vice Chair Gaffney asked if none of the other boards and commissions can make a decision based on a simple majority of the quorum, and they all have to be a majority of the total number of commissioners or board members. Deputy Corporation Counsel Wong said it depends how many commissioners or board members are present at the hearing. If there are fewer than seven present, you need at least four votes either way. So it depends how many commissioners or board members are actually there at the hearing, getting the record, reviewing all of the evidence. She is certain that those adjudicatory boards and commissions have that similar rule. Chair Adams asked about the requirement to set up a meeting location open to the public for meetings after March 25. Deputy Corporation Counsel Wong said there might be an extension of that. For our purposes and for Commissioner Olson particularly, it would be good to do a physical location with the connectivity issues. So to the extent the Secretary can secure a physical location for the next couple of meetings or at least maybe do similar to what he did today where Commissioner Olson shows up at the Hilo office at least for the month, that would be helpful for him. Chair Adams agreed. Things change daily, hourly. We'll just have to see what we can do. Our intent is if we can all hear each other, see each other, if we can, and then the public has an opportunity to participate in our meetings, so resilience is her theme. Be resilient and we will make this happen. 16