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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PWPRC 2017/10/17 2016-2018COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS AND RECREATION 10" Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii October 17, 2017 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Works and Parks and ORDER: Recreation was called to order at 11:54 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Chair Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Karen Eoff, Member Mr. Dru Mamo Kanuha, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Eileen O'Hara, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Absent & Excused: Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 488: APPOINTMENT OF ROXCIE L. WALTJEN AS PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR From Mayor Harry Kim, dated September 25, 2017, Submitting for the Council's review and confirmation the above appointment. Requires Council Confirmation by: November 23, 2017 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kanuha moved to recommend the confirmation of Ms. Roxcie L. Waltjen as Parks and Recreation Director. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter. (Note: At this time, Managing Director Will Okabe and Nominee Roxcie L. Waltjen came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. RUGGLES: Mr. Okabe, would you like to introduce? MR. OKABE: Good morning Councilwoman. CHR. RUGGLES: Good morning. MR. OKABE: I'd just like to say thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of Roxcie Waltjen. As you all know, Parks and Recreation is the second largest employee of members to our County government with 453 employees, only second to the Police Department, which has 594 officers. So this is definitely a very big department, and we are very pleased, too, that Roxcie has been nominated by Mayor Kim to this Council to accept the position as the Recreation Director. She comes highly respected within the community. She works very well with the community. All of you had the opportunity to meet Roxcie, with her service for over close to 30 years in County government. She's highly organized. She's able to manage staff, which is very important. We were looking for somebody that can manage staff, and she meets all of those qualifications. She has a very clear mission, and she has a very clear vision in regards to serving the people of the County of Hawaii in regards to Parks and Recreation. We highly recommend your support in recommending Roxcie Waltjen for this position. Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Thank you. MR. OKABE: And I think—I'm not sure if Harry Kim is in Hilo also; but not, I will text them to make sure that he's on. CHR. RUGGLES: Great. Is Mr. Kim in Hilo? MR. OKABE: Yes, he's in Hilo. MS. MURAMOTO: Yes, he is. Page 2 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 CHR. RUGGLES: Would he like to comment? (Note: At this time, Mayor Harry Kim came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. OKABE: There he is. There he is. CHR. RUGGLES: Great. Go ahead, Mayor Kim. MAYOR KIM: Thank you very much. I'm sorry I'm late. I just came back from another meeting. Good morning, Roxcie. Thank you very much for being up there, being asked to take over this very difficult job. I'm trying to be a little formal, but you know how that is for me. Roxcie, there's so many things that I can talk about. I wouldn't pick on just couple of things. First of all, as Will said, the job of the Parks and Recreation Director, I think most people don't realize the difficulty of that job. For one plain simple reason, you have so many projects throughout the entire island that are thrown on your lap. Not only projects, in regards throughout the island, but you have ongoing kind of things that you have to manage as well. So the skill of management is a highly important one. But beyond that, it is a person who has the passion to want to do these things. I can think of two things. I remember way back when, when the Hilo Bay concept of Fourth of July was changed for reason of safety, and Roxcie was given the difficult, difficult task of planning for the Bayfront Fourth of July, and what you see today. Let's take another one, in regards to the Cherry Blossom, in Waimea; if any of you've seen the tremendous growth of that very, very popular program, Cherry Blossom, when I went this last time, I was quite taken aback when it had to spread to the other side of town. There's a lot of good of that because of its popularity. I kind of liked it when it was all together, one place, but that's not even possible because she does such a good job that—and if you need more space. To the Members of the Council, I ask that you to please act favorably on Roxcie. Without a doubt, I think she'll be a very, very good person, for us to care for the most important things of County government's responsibilities, and that is our parks. I thank her sincerely for taking on this task. I ask the Council Members to give her this responsibility so she can continue her great work that she's done for 30 years, approximately 30 years, but now in a manner of a position, the Director, Administrator of the whole division—department, rather. Thank you very much. Page 3 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 CHR. RUGGLES: Thank you, Mayor Kim. Ms. Waltjen, would you like to say a few words? MS. WALTJEN: First of all, I'd like to say good morning, oh well, maybe it's good afternoon. It's a privilege and it's an honor to represent, to be asked to represent the Department of Parks and Recreation. I have always believed that the Department of Parks and Recreation was the best department in the County of Hawaii, and that's because we take care of people of all ages, all walks of life, all ethnic groups. We take care of you from birth till death because we have everything from recreational facilities to parks, to maintenance, to cemeteries; so yes, we are inclusive. So, I'd like to ask for your support today and I look forward to bringing unity to the Department of Parks and Recreation and working with each and every one of you in all of your districts. Thank you so very much. CHR. RUGGLES : Thank you. Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, I just want to thank you because I've had the privilege of working with you on several of the events, or I should say you came to my rescue on all of those events. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you. MS. POINDEXTER: I know your skill sets are beyond measure. I know when I first heard—and I want to thank Mayor Kim for selecting you—when I first heard that it was you that he selected, it brought back a lot of memories from when I first met you. It was through this fierce woman, who was very groomed in politics. She wasn't a politician, I mean, she was a politician, you could say that. She never ran for office, but she organized these beautiful events and she would call upon you, that's how I first met you, to help her organize. MS. WALTJEN: Aunty Barbara Dart. MS. POINDEXTER: And that was Barbara Dart. They broke the mold after she—I mean, she was a fierce political, a very good public servant, and worked hard for the people. She was your mentor. MS. WALTJEN: That's right. Mover and a shaker. MS. POINDEXTER: Exactly. MS. WALTJEN: Exactly. Page 4 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 MS. POINDEXTER: She would be so very proud that our Mayor recognized the skill sets you have and put you in a position that is so suited for you. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you so very much. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, and that comes—the credit has to go to your mama and your family because your upbringing, your values that you never forget. And I remember Barbara used to use you as her entertainment, also. You were her singer for the whole night, karaoke back then. MS. WALTJEN: That's right. MS. POINDEXTER: But congratulations, and I say this from my heart. Thank you for loving all of our people. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. CHR. RUGGLES: Anyone else? Ms. David. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair. Aloha, Ms. Waltjen. MS. WALTJEN: Aloha. MS. DAVID: At first, when I heard your name, I was wondering, "Do I know this lady, and when you walked in, "Oh, I know you." I can't remember where I first met you. But yes, I'm very happy and very pleased, and I thank Mayor Kim for appointing you because from what Ms. Poindexter is saying, I'm really excited and I'm looking forward to working closely with you. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you. MS. DAVID: And getting some work done for our people. MS. WALTJEN: Sure. MS. DAVID: Mahalo so much, and I will support your nomination. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you so very much. MS. DAVID: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Ms. Eoff. Page 5 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 MS. EOFF: Thank you, Madam Chair. Congratulations and thank you for your willingness to step up and take charge of this large department. I think I agree with you, it's the best department in the County. There's so many good projects that we have going on, and that we can continue to improve services to the community in the Parks and Recreation. I was reading through your resume and your final notes here, and this is so—I mean you have been involved in so many different things and so well-trained. I'm just like, how do you even remember all of these things? But very impressive resume. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you. MS. EOFF: So I'm looking forward to working with you. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Ms. O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Ms. Waltjen, for coming before us for this confirmation. I will be supporting your confirmation, and I'm really pleased that you are willing to accept. This is not an easy job, as you already know. I'm just really happy to meet you in person. We had a nice meet/greet over the phone, but it's nice to meet you in person. I suspect that we'll be working together a lot in the future. Just as I was reaching to hit the button on the mike, my phone rang, it's a Parks and Rec. issue. We have a lot of those in my district, and I look forward to working with you. Thank you. MS. WALTJEN: I welcome the opportunity. Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Looks like we're just going to go down the row. Roxcie, thank you so much for stepping up. I think we've known each other— MS. WALTJEN: Forever. MS. LEE LOY: Forever. MS. WALTJEN: That's right. Page 6 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 MS. LEE LOY: And I'm just really excited about you being at the helm of this department. Earlier we confirmed a rock star and an MVP (Most Valuable Player) but right now we're about to confirm a game changer. You will become a game changer for this department. We take care of people from the infancy through death, womb to tomb. I can appreciate all of that experience that you bring to the table. But, I am always incredibly impressed with your organizational skills. I have walked into many people's offices, and at times it's a hot mess. But every time I walk into your office, it's organized, everything is in its place. When I ask a question of you, you're reaching for the answer, and it's that skill sets that I am so excited to have at the department. One other thing I do want to recognize, is the support that you brought today. They showed up because of you, so thank you so much for being here and thank you for the support that's here today. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you so very much. I cannot take all the credit for who I am today because I'm the result of many things: the people I work with, my parents, my family, the community that I live in. I was born and raised in Hilo, but I lived 28 years in Puna. And that's why my heart goes out to Jen Ruggles and Ms. O'Hara, about the Puna area, the Ka` u area, I've had many things out there. We've done things out there, so I understand and I know we need to move things forward. So, thank you very much. CHR. RUGGLES: Thank you. Mr. Kanuha. MR. KANUHA: Thank you, Madam Chair. Aloha, Roxcie. MS. WALTJEN: Aloha. MR. KANUHA: Just want to mahalo you and mahalo Mayor Kim for appointing you as the Parks' director. I fully support your nomination and really look forward to working with you. Like you stated earlier, Parks and Rec. is the best department as you stated. You know what, I'm not to take away from the other departments because we've got to work with them, too. But I do want to say that I really appreciate that because, especially myself, since I became a Council Member, Parks and Rec. has been at the top of the list, to enhance the parks, to create better places for our kupuna, ourselves, and our keiki. So it really has been something that always cherished and worked with each director and each deputy and each—go on down the line, all the generals throughout the department to really make these safe places for our `ohana to go to. So, I'm looking forward to working with you on enhancing that, on creating these safe places for our `ohana. Page 7 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 So just really looking forward of having the dialogue, the open door. That's all I really ask, is to keep us updated abut what's going on in the community. To have that back and forth dialogue. Please ask us, "Hey, Dru, what's going on down there?" I might have a different sense of what's going on. But I really look forward to working with you. I don't want to take away from your nomination, but also thanking the previous Parks and Rec. Director, Charmaine, for her service. I really appreciated the dialogue and her commitment to the community, as well, so I do want to thank her for her service to the County, as well. But looking forward to working with you. I think you're a great fit for this position, and mahalo for accepting. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you so very much. Thank you. MR. CHUNG: You know, I wasn't really going to say much because I've worked with Roxcie so many years, right? MS. WALTJEN: Yeah. MR. CHUNG: She knows how I feel about her. I have only positive things to say about all she's done for the County and for me personally. All of the fun things that we had at the County are really things she put together. MS. WALTJEN: Well, I can't take the credit for everything. MR. CHUNG: Right, you said that. MS. WALTJEN: Because I have real supportive staff. Some of them are here today, and they drove all the way out here to be here, so I really thank them too. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, but I wanted to congratulate you on your appointment, Roxcie. Maile and Eileen, they weren't familiar with you. All I can say is that means they weren't totally utilizing Parks and Recreation during the time that they've been on, because you have been just a wonderful person over there. But I do have a question for you, if I may? MS. WALTJEN: The tennis courts? MR. CHUNG: Yeah, I'd like some improvements over there. No, no. MS. WALTJEN: I know. MR. CHUNG: But it has to do with the audit that we just had regarding Human Resources. Page 8 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 MS. WALTJEN: Yes, sir. MR. CHUNG: A lot of focus was placed on the Department of Parks and Recreation. Would you like to make a statement, maybe to the public? MS. WALTJEN: Yes, absolutely. I have had a meeting with the Department of Human Resources; in fact, I had a meeting with them yesterday. We went over some of the items on the audit that were not real flattering. So we are going to make some adjustments to how we do things. We're going to be providing some training, some supervisory training, so we can retrain and maybe give a refresher course to some of our employees, our supervisors. We will be assisting them to fill vacancies so that our facilities and our programs can run, and we can get our parks and our places open to the public and provide the services that we need to do. So we are making those adjustments. I will be having a staff meeting this Friday, where some of these items will be discussed. So we are beginning to work on all of these adjustments. MR. CHUNG: Thank you very much. And, congratulations. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you so very much. CHR. RUGGLES: Anyone else? Okay, great. Well, I just want to say I really appreciated the time that I've gotten to work with you, just in the past two weeks. You've really struck me as being a straight -shooter and very level-headed, and really striking a balance between caring about the needs of the department and accommodating the needs of the community. It's like if you really care, it's really refreshing. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: And in working to find creative solutions, where it's hard to find that win-win balance. It's so hard. I think we've been able to find it with some pretty difficult situations within my district. MS. WALTJEN: Well, it's really important, Ms. Ruggles, that we not only depend on County resources. We have to work with community; we have to work with private enterprise. And if we can partner with these people in helping to provide a better community, better activities, then I think it's a win-win for everybody. So, that's the way it's done. CHR. RUGGLES: Exactly. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you. Page 9 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 CHR. RUGGLES: Yeah, I really appreciate your out-of-the-box thinking about that. I'm looking forward to working with you more. MS. WALTJEN: Thank you so very much. CHR. RUGGLES: With that, I just want to let you know that you don't have to appear the next time your appointment is on the Council agenda. With that, all those in favor of filing Communication 488 to appoint Ms. Waltjen please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 488: The motion to confirm the appointment of Ms. Roxcie L. Waltjen (Approved) as Parks and Recreation Director was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair Ruggles — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. CHR. RUGGLES: Motion carries. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (There were none.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (There were none.) CHR. RUGGLES: May I have a motion to adjourn? ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 12:14 p.m., Ms. Poindexter moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. David and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair Ruggles — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. Page 10 PWPRC-10 October 17, 2017 CHR. RUGGLES: We are now adjourned. Thank you. Approved: /I/no� Ms. e fifer Ruggles, Chair Publ Works and Parks and Recreation Committee MD/na (Date) Page 11