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she consider it as a departmental contract so that person can also assist Solid Waste. Capellas <br />explained the HIOSH site visit/fine procedure as follows: <br />-A meeting is held to address the fines and depending on how the issued are addressed, the <br />fines will either be increased or decreased. He feels the depart <br />felt that the department did not address the issues and did not want to hear how the department <br />addressed the issues. <br />-Fines issued were as high as $115,000; then dropped down to $60 <br />-Although Solid Waste disagrees that state agency rules can be applied to a County agency <br />and some negotiations still need to be done, the direct effect is that Solid Waste will be forced to <br />spend $10,000 to $20,000 to provide new puncture-proof shoes for every Solid Waste worker. <br />Kuba stated it is a countywide problem, not just Solid Waste. To be proactive, Wastewater wants <br />hire the consultant before HIOSH arrives. <br />Steve Cassulo asked if there was a Safety Coordinator position in the County. Charmaine Kamaka <br />is in charge of Safety and also handles workers comp, and comes under the Civil Service <br />Department. Cassulo suggested the County have one individual designated to visit every site as <br />often as possible to do internal audits to help save costs for (1) safety violations and (2) workman <br />comp claims, and also do employee training. Kuba said it was an Administrative decision and in <br />the meantime, Wastewater is hiring itÓs own consultant to fill that function. <br />Council member Tyler stated there was a Safety Coordinator in the past but the position was <br />removed by the Charter Committee, however some of the workers co <br />Civil Service. Since it is the council who ultimately has to approve payment when it is over $1500, <br />and sees the costs of the lawsuits and settlements, etc., Councilman Tyler suggested that this <br />Commission look into the matter further. <br />Capellas stated that in the last five years, there has been only one sideways puncture on a shoe and <br />six finger punctures but employees are provided with very expensive $10 gloves, costing thousands <br />of dollars every year. Safety is a very important issue but someday the decision is going to have to <br />be made how far we go in providing protection. <br />Hugh Ono concluded, with safety program requirements continually increasing, it is highly unlikely <br />that a manager or supervisor can execute a safety program effectively with all their other daily <br />responsibilities so there is a need to create a unit that creates and administers the safety programs. <br />At the August meeting, the commission will discuss and vote on the internal audit approach, and if <br />agreed, will send a statement to the mayor suggesting that it be a countywide emphasis. <br /> <br />Solid Waste Division ChiefÓs Report <br />Larry Capellas provided a written report to the Commissioners. Honokaa Transfer Station gates <br />will hopefully be up by the end of the month. Notice will be in the newspapers and posted at the <br />site. <br />After reading Mr. FrankelÓs data, he wanted to go on record stating that he believes facts should not <br />be used to bias a report or there is the risk of having the general public or the Council having <br />-4- <br /> <br />