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BRILHANTE: Again, Madam Chair, fellow Commissioners, William Brilhante, Assistant
<br />Corporation Counsel. Yeah, there was a question earlier, posed by Commissioner Heaukulani
<br />regarding the four previous awarded or approved claim applications submitted to the Planning
<br />Commission, and I just wanted to clarify the record as it relates to each study. And I got
<br />confirmation from the Mayor's office that the groundwater study was awarded to the USGS
<br />which is a governmental entity. The meta -data study was awarded to the UH Medical School,
<br />again another government entity. The air quality monitors was awarded pursuant to our standard
<br />procurement equipment list. They are a contractor on our equipment list. That item will not go
<br />through RFP `cause the RFP is a request for proposals which is more analogous to some type of
<br />study or consultation. And then the final item, the brine pond, was awarded to a prof
<br />individual who's on the County's professional services list, and that's how those items were
<br />specifically addressed.
<br />And, the reason I brought this point up is because the, pursuant to the HRS as I alluded to earlier,
<br />Section 103D -102B, Section 2G, specifically states that if a government entity is going to be
<br />awarded a contract from the County of Hawaii, then they do not have to go through the
<br />competitive bid process. They still have to comply with procurement regulations but they don't
<br />have to go through a competitive bid process, and that's the same for individuals who are on the
<br />County's professional services list.
<br />Again, you know, I just wanted to reiterate the fact that nobody's here --nobody from the County
<br />is here, specifically, not me, is here to make representations regarding the validity of the study or
<br />the proposed study. We're not here, again, you know, addressing the substantive issues of the
<br />study. That's not what we're here to do today. All we're here to do today is to correct potential
<br />procedural defects that the Office of the Corporation Counsel became aware of, you know, once
<br />this matter was you know approved by the Commission. There's been concern regarding, you
<br />know, why more information wasn't provided in the agenda you know based on the
<br />reconsideration, and I'm glad that somebody alluded to it. I believe it was you, Commissioner
<br />Henkel or correct me if I'm wrong, but you know through, because of Sunshine Law
<br />requirements, when the motion to reconsider was first proposed by Commissioner Ikeda, we
<br />were precluded from having additional discussions regarding that matter, and if I were to then
<br />individually address each of the Commissioners, you know, subsequent to that meeting, I would
<br />have been violating the Sunshine Law.
<br />So, it's unfortunate that you know the process is you know the way it is but you know just for
<br />fairness and equity to all, the item of reconsideration of the application was properly agendized.
<br />Anybody in the community who had concern or had a—who wanted to be here today, was
<br />afforded that opportunity in a timely manner, and you know, like I said, it is what it is. It's a
<br />process, and we're just trying to comply with the requirements of the process, and again, the
<br />reason for that is because we don't want it challenged. We don't want the record challenged.
<br />Just like we don't want the procurement issues challenged down the road, and because like
<br />Commissioner Heaukulani said is, you know, failure to act would be an injustice to all. We
<br />don't want this matter stuck in you know the red tape of bureaucracy, so you know, that's again
<br />the County's position. Thank you.
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