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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PC 021 04/20/1999 1998-2000 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DATE: Apri120, 1999 Re: C-214 PLACE: Councilroom TIME: 2:41 p.m. Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Communication No. 214 transmitted by Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro dated March 24, 1999, reports as follows: Communication No. 214 recommends the appointment of the following individuals to the Hawaii County Water Commission to serve a teen ending December 31, 2003: Mr. Raymond M. Kawamata, of no political affiliation, will replace Fred T. Yamashiro, whose term expired on December 31, 1998. Mr. Kawamata, a 50-year resident of Hawaii, has been the owner/manager of Kawamata Farms, Inc., since 1983. Mr. John S. Tolmie, Jr., of no political affiliation, will replace Thomas P. Whittemore, whose term expired on December 31, 1998. Mr. Tolmie, a 28-year resident of Hawaii, has been aself-employed real estate developer since 1976. Pursuant to Section 8-2 of the Hawaii County Charter, the mayor shall appoint members to the Water Commission to be confirmed by the Council, as prescribed in Section 13-4 of the Hawaii County Charter. At the April 7, 1999, Planning Committee meeting, Mr. Raymond M. Kawamata's nomination was confirmed, and Your Committee submitted the recommendation to the Council for approval at the Apri121, 1999, meeting. Mr. Tolmie's nomination was deferred until today so a legal opinion could be obtained from the Corporation Counsel regarding the validity of his nomination since he is from Hilo and the openings on the commission are from Kona and Kohala. Acting Chair Curtis Tyler felt that this nomination was not in compliance with the Charter. A list of all current Water Commission PC-21 PC-21 Page 2 April 20, 1999 members was presented, and Aaron Chung of Your Committee noted that the Kona position is filled by Mr. George Harai who is in an At-Large position. Discussion ensued and Your Committee deferred the decision on Mr. Tolmie's nomination by a 5-2 (Chung, Smith) vote, until a legal opinion could be obtained from the Corporation Counsel on the validity of Mr. Tolmie's nomination. At today's meeting, discussion ensued on the legal opinion from Corporation Counsel regazding the nominations. According to the opinion, "being representative" is not defined, and there is no requirement that says one has to actually be domiciled or be a registered voter in the named districts. "The practice has developed of designating appointees to the commission as either At-Large or district members. This practice is not required by the Charter, and since one of the so called at-large members is a resident of Kona, the requirement of representation from the Kona Districts has been met." Further discussion ensued, and other members agreed with Committee Member Curtis Tyler that the commissions need equal representation from the districts, because only a resident of a specific area would really know the needs of their district and what is happening in their area. Also, it was felt that the charter needs to be amended to reflect these concerns, and the Water Commission should be similar to the Planning Commission in that the commission members will hereafter represent each council district. A motion was made to approve the nomination of Mr. Tolmie to the Water Commission; however, due to the aforementioned reasons, Mr. Tolmie's nomination was not confirmed by Your Committee, as reflected in the votes below, Your Committee on Planning does not concur with the appointment of Mr. John S. Tolmie, Jr., to the Hawaii County Water Commission. AvES NOES A & E Ex Respectfully submitted, LEITHEAD-TODD X TYLER X COMMITTEE A CHUNG X ELARIONOFF X !T ~ACOesoN X Y JEAN LEITHEAD-TODD, CHAIR PISICCHIO x sn-IITH X PC REPORT NO. 21 vncoNC x APR 2 11999 ARAKAKI E.O.M. X ADOPTED: