2025-12-15 Liquor Commission Minutes Hilo (Special Meeting)

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And you know, those are the times that you know we may see some letters of protest come in from the surrounding property owners. And, if we see that maybe there's a significant amount, or maybe it might create some kind of problem, we will help to you know facilitate a meeting between the concerned citizens and our applicant to meet before you know, the meeting and have them address any questions and concerns. And a lot of the time it's just providing more information to the citizens concerned, and would say you know 99.9% of the time that meeting is successful. So, by the time it gets to you folks as the Commission at the public hearing, everything has been resolved and everything is you know, on a good level. Also, keeping up to date with what's trending in the liquor industry, you know on the federal level, and on the state level is very important for our Department. So, continue to attend the conferences, the State and National conferences are very vital for our licensees so we can assist them to be successful. Okabe: What are your priorities as soon as you become Director, and what things would you hope to accomplish in the first year? Waltjen: So first off, I will fill my position which is the Licensing Officer position to ensure continuity is very important. So, probably fill it on a temporary assignment while we work towards making that you know, filling that permanently. Meeting with staff as a whole to address any concerns and answer any questions but you know, let them know at this point everything is status quo until further notice. And also letting them know that will want to meet with them individually so I can have open dialogue you know, get a good gauge of where they're at in their job and how they're feeling. And I would also like to send a letter out to the licensees to let them know about what has happened in terms of the transition, but that's probably something that I'll want to work with Gerald to see if we can work together, you know as the Director, about his retirement and then having a new Director to take his place, so we do a transition type of letter. What I hope to accomplish the first year, review existing internal workflow policies and procedures to see if there's any changes to make our Department run more effectively and more efficiently. You know, consulting with staff to get their input, finding out what those changes would look like and then implementing them. I would also like to meet the licensees in person so I can you know, put the face to the name. I know that's a tall task but you know, trying to figure out a way to do that and again, addressing any concerns and questions that they may have and ensuring that you know, under my leadership the Department will continue to run as smoothly. You know, if they have any questions or they need any guidance as usual, they can always come to me or our Department. Okabe: Can you provide for us at least two goals you want to set for the Department, and what are your plans to achieve these goals? MINUTES - LIQUOR COMMISSION MEETING SPECIAL MEETING - MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2025 - HILO PAGE 18 OF 35