2024-12-12 Fire Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes December 12, 2024 Page 9 Commissioner Luke motioned to reconvene open session. Seconded by Commissioner Cushnie, with no discussion, and it carried unanimously. The regular session reconvened at 12:12 p.m. SUMMARY OF EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS Chair Kosaki announced that they discussed the comments in the evaluation and identified some that could pose legal risks. They decided to amend the evaluation by removing the comments and will re-send the amended evaluation. Chief Todd clarified that he initially sought clarification on certain comments and was unsure of the process to address them. He asked if he should submit a letter or have a conversation with the commission. Chair Kosaki explained that after a thorough discussion, they agreed to develop a clear process for handling such issues in future evaluations. Rather than addressing each comment individually, they chose to amend this year's evaluation by removing the comments for this year's evaluation. Chief Todd stated that two meetings ago, they discussed de-anonymizing the evaluation, so each comment would be attributed to the individual who made it. In the last meeting, they voted to put the evaluation forward maintaining full anonymity. He asked if this would be the direction moving forward and what the plan is. DCC Salas-Ferguson explained that during executive session, they discussed the evaluation process and the commission's responsibilities. He clarified that there are no established rules or past practices regarding the process, which has been evolving. The current evaluation process is part of an ongoing trial-and-error approach to find the best method moving forward. The commission will soon entertain a motion, which will help clarify the direction, and the chief could provide input if he wishes. Chair Kosaki stated that in the future, they will establish a clear process and will explain it to the chief. AMENDMENT TO THE AGENDA Commissioner Hirakami motioned to amend the agenda to include an item entertaining a motion to amend the evaluation issued on November 21, 2024. Seconded by Commissioner Luke, with no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously. AMENDMENT TO THE FIRE CHIEFS EVALUATION Chair Kosaki requested a motion to amend the evaluation. Commissioner Perrin motioned to amend the evaluation by removing the comments. Commissioner Cushnie seconded. Commissioner Hirakami noted that since the evaluation with comments had already been sent to the relevant parties, it should be accompanied by an explanatory letter clarifying that the commission made an error in sending the evaluation with comments. The letter should instruct recipients to disregard the previous evaluation and consider the amended version as the final evaluation of the Fire Chief. With no further discussion, the motion passed unanimously.