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MR. SHUMWAY: Second <br />Ms. Jarman moved to adopt the 2009 -2010 Hawaii County <br />Charter Commission's Rules of Procedure. Seconded by Mr. <br />Shumway and carried by the following vote: <br />Ayes: Commissioners Fuertes, Honma, Jarman, Kawauchi, <br />Kealoha, Murashige, Nahale -a, Osborne, Shumway, <br />Unger, and Chair Haitsuka. <br />Noes: None. <br />Absent: None. <br />CHR. HAITSUKA: Motion carried, motion approved. <br />2. ORIENTATION BY LEGAL COUNSEL <br />CHR. HAITSUKA: We have Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida here today. He is going to <br />give us a presentation. Good afternoon, Mr. Ashida. <br />MR. ASHIDA: Good afternoon, Chair Haitsuka and members of the Hawaii County Charter <br />Commission. Congratulations on your appointment and confirmation. And thank you very <br />much for your service. Mayor Kenoi talked about the different things that the Charter <br />Commission can do, and that's a tremendous undertaking. He talked about the four year council <br />terms and so forth. Don't forget that you can also make the Corporation Counsel a Civil Service <br />position and not have him removed unless there's cause, just cause. Just wanted to mention, <br />that's within your powers, if you so choose. This is my 21st year of service to the people of the <br />County of Hawaii. I served for 13 years as a Prosecuting Attorney the last eight years as the <br />Corporation Counsel. We're really excited about this Charter Commission. <br />Right from the get go, I think the first thing we need to recognize and really give a big thank you <br />and mahalo to is the Council and the County Clerk's Office, because in the past, when Charter <br />Commissions have been empanelled and served, it cost a lot of money. It cost a lot of money <br />because they would have to hire out staff, staff to do the minutes, take care of all the secretarial <br />work, make sure that you comply with Sunshine Law, posting of the agendas. It also cost a lot of <br />money because historically Charter Commissions have hired private counsel, attorneys. We <br />avoided that this year thanks to the generosity of Chair Yoshimoto and the staff of the Council <br />and Clerk's Office. Karen Eoff, who works out of the Kona Council Office, has graciously <br />volunteered. Actually, she was probably assigned, but I'll say she graciously volunteered to <br />serve as the Secretary of this Commission. <br />In terms of Legal Counsel, instead of having to go outside, hire an attorney who probably would <br />have to take awhile to get up to speed in terms of the existing Charter, County procedure and <br />law, you are going to be serviced by Levi Hookano, who is an attorney with the Council offices <br />here. He is a Legal Specialist. Talk about getting somebody who hits the ground running, who <br />0 <br />