2014-01-08 Board of Ethics Minutes

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HAWAI‘I COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS 1 MINUTES – REGULAR SESSION Wednesday, January 8, 2014 10:00 a.m. to 11:58 a.m. Hawai‘i County Building 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1501 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Members and Staff Present: Bernard Balsis, Vice Chair Arne Henricks, Member Glen Hisashima, Member Douglass Adams, Member Renee N. C. Schoen, Deputy Corporation Counsel Mary E. Fujio, Secretary 1. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Balsis called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. 2. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Wesley Takai had signed up to testify on agenda item 5a. MR. TAKAI: My name is Wesley Takai, and I’m here to speak for myself on the Petition No. 2013-05 and 2013-06. Before I start I would like to thank the Board, members of the Board, for your dedication and time for your public service. I served for five years in the Finance Department, Board of Review, and I understand how difficult it is to render a fair decision in such a complex case, especially—I know that you have a vacancy, so if you have a vacancy, how hard it is, hoping that you’ll have enough members for a quorum. After reading the articles in the September 17 and September 12 [sic] newspapers on the subject matters, I wanted to share some historical information, hopefully to help you in your decision-making. I started as an appraiser trainee in January 1969, five months after returning from Viet Nam, and spent 39 years with the Real Property Division. When hired, I was a state employee, as the real property program at that time was a function of the state government. When I started, the appraisal staff consisted of six appraisers, including myself, and a supervising appraiser. All seven of us lived in the 1 Blanks indicate inaudible or indecipherable speech.