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• GRAHAM: I guess you just try to write the language as neutral as you can in that <br />balance of power and then just accept that it will swing one way or the other with the <br />personalities. But if the language itself is oriented one way or the other, then I think <br />you have something to correct. <br />HERKES: And I think you'll have to recognize that the Council has given up power <br />to the Planning Commission along the way. They give up their power to the Planning <br />- there are decisions that the Planning Commission's been empowered to make that <br />really should be made by the County Council but in the past years, they've had not <br />enough time, they've had other issues and so they've given up that power to the <br />Planning Commission. I'm not sure you can legislate that. I'm not sure you can write <br />that into - they get to do what they want to do. They are a legislative body. So that's a <br />recognition of some dynamics that are interesting in there too. <br />1 <br />• <br />GRAHAM: Sure. <br />RAY: Since Marni brought it up, Bill, in terms of the Planning Commission, the <br />authority of the Planning Commission and also the physical jurisdiction, I know in times <br />in the past, the idea of separate Planning Commissions for whether it's East and West <br />Hawaii, but I think it was more an issue of the workload, right? What was realistic for a <br />lay volunteer group to take on, right? That it just seemed like an awful lot, right? And I <br />know you've been so involved in that process over the years so do you have any <br />thoughts or comments on both the authority issue because we've certainly discussed <br />that at the County Council in the past, the idea. And you know, it works differently in <br />different counties in the state, right? <br />GRAHAM: Well, I don't generally think of the Planning Commission as somebody <br />with a lot of authority other than the SMA permits. And those are ones that are <br />obviously controversial. <br />RAY: And so you don't think that is - that's not an issue with you, their <br />jurisdiction over the SMA permits? <br />GRAHAM: No, it is very much an issue and for that reason, I think it is important, <br />what you're saying, how we deal with the Planning Commission. <br />RAY: As far as the workload, I mean, is it your sense that the way it works now <br />is realistic in terms of the enormous amount of research and the number of meetings. <br />GRAHAM: I sure think it feels like the amount of work they have to do is a lot and <br />they're obviously getting minimal compensation for it, mileage or something like that, so <br />you'd get better input from somebody who's been on a Planning Commission but it <br />seems to me, to spread the load around amongst more people like two Planning <br />