MINUTES for 2022-02-23 FINAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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Veterans Advisory Committee Minutes February 23, 2022 Page 2 OLD BUSINESS Letter from Raymond Welch RE: DAV Membership on Committee Chair Doolittle introduced the topic and welcomed comments. Vice Chair Brinkley: made a couple remarks; as a member of the committee, she speaks only for herself and not for anyone else. She is no longer a member of DAV and has never tried to represent DAV. She disagrees with the statement that commissioned officers of the public health services and commissioned officers of NOAA are not veterans. There are several definitions that the Department of Veterans Affairs uses to determine who is a veteran. His last concern was a non -veteran would be in control of the committee and would try to move the committee away from its stated purpose. She didn't feel was correct because there are many governing bodies for the boards and commissions, and whoever may try to do that would be removed by the Mayor or County Council. Chair Doolittle agreed and asked if there was anything that needed to be done legally to address the concerns of Mr. Welch. Assistant Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto agreed that the comments made were accurate and there is no further action necessary. Discussion closed. Hidden Heroes Cities and Counties Chair Doolittle introduced the topic and deferred to Marcia. Vice Chair Brinkley announced that guest speaker Ilihia Gionson was not able to make it to the meeting, so we'll continue this topic at the next meeting. Veterans Memorials — Kalakaua Park Chair Doolittle announced the topic and deferred to Marcia. Vice -Chair Brinkley wanted to bring awareness to the committee regarding the memorial at the Kaldkaua Park. The memorial is deteriorating and has become a homeless hang out area. P&R Deputy Director Michelle Hiraishi stated that we'll have our Park Maintenance staff do an assessment of the memorial and repair what they can. Vice Chair Brinkley also mentioned that maybe there would be veterans' groups or civic groups that would be willing to help upkeep the memorials. The committee will continue to work on getting a list of all veterans' memorials and groups to help maintain them.