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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-03-19 Veteran Advisory Committee MinutesVETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, March 19, 2009, 3:00 p.m. Prosecutor's Office (Hilo) and Kona Mayor's Office (Via Videoconferencing) Present Members Carolle Brulee- Wilson Penny Fox Edward Lee George Mukai Delbert Nishimoto George Yamamoto Kona Mayor's Office (Via Videoconferencing) Members Antonio Gaspar Minoru Hanato Robert Welter Guests (Hilo) Emile Wery Robert Karp Hideo Gushiken Bill Sibayton Clement Chang E. F. Austen Elgen Fujimoto William Yoeman Louis Kaoiwi Keith Ribbentrop Wendell J. Ka`ehu`ae`a Dwayn Mukai Guests (Kona) Boss Hanato David Carlson Ex- Officio (Hilo) Clayton Honma, Deputy Director, P &R Joseph Flores (OVS) Ex- Officio (Kona) Robert Fitzgerald, Director, P &R Also Present (Hilo) Nathalie Santos, Secretary Herring Kalua, State Veterans Advisory Board - EH Representative Herbert Lum, State Veterans Advisory Board - WH Representative Veterans Advisory Committee Page 2 March 19, 2009 Absent Don Bennett Richard Highley Wendall Kekumu Gilbert Sampaia Norman Stahl John Young Announcement Prior to the meeting, Chairwoman Penny Fox explained that she will allot a reasonable amount of time for each person to present testimony as she does not want to go past 4pm since the conference room is only reserved until then and she has another meeting following this one. She also requested that each organization select one representative to present testimony on the organization's behalf. Call to Order Chairwoman Penny Fox called the meeting to order at 3:20 pm - (9) members present. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY PRESENTED RELATING TO PROPOSED VETERANS MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED AT LILIUOKALANI GARDENS BY THE KOREAN WAR VETERANS LOUIS KAOIWI - Representing DAV, Chapter 6 (Mr. Kaoiwi read his letter dated February 23, 2009, which was presented to the committee as Communication 01 -09.) Mr. Kaoiwi also provided an update on number of memorials around the island starting in Hakalau: 1 - Hakalau 1 - Waimea 3 - Kohala 5 - Kona 1 - Na` alehu 1 - Pahala 1 - Mt. View 1 - Ola` a 7 - Hilo Total of 21 Memorials on the Big Island Mr. Kaoiwi asked if there were any questions. Mr. Emile Wery asked if there is a memorial on this island that memorializes everybody who was killed fighting for the United States? One memorial, all the names? Veterans Advisory Committee Page 3 March 19, 2009 Mr. Kaoiwi responded yes. Mr. Wery asked where is that? Mr. Kaoiwi responded in Kona. Mr. Wery asked if it included everyone on this island? Mr. Kaoiwi said they don't have the names, but they have all the branches of service. Mr. Wery said that's not what he's asking. Mr. Kaoiwi said he's just telling him what he knows. Mr. Wery said his question is, is there a memorial on this island that honors every person from this island who fought and died for the United States? He said there is none. There are individuals all over in the communities, but there is not one that honors all of them together. Mr. Kaoiwi said you got the Vietnam Memorial that represents the personnel that went to combat in the Vietnam War. The Korean War Veterans may not have one with all their names. Mr. Wery responded that they do have one. Chairwoman Fox interrupted and said she's not going to have people go back and forth and argue. From then on all questions will be to the Council only. • PATRICIA ENGELHARD (Former P &R Director) Patricia Engelhard reiterated her past position which is that Liliuokalani Park is not an appropriate place for a memorial of this kind. There are a number of other places that she was thinking about in addition to the ones suggested earlier, which were the area below the old County building and at Veterans II or Veterans I which has a memorial to all the veterans up until Vietnam War. Kalakaua Park which has a monument at the reflecting pool honoring everyone up to the Korean War, but Liliuokalani Park is not an appropriate place for a war memorial. • JOHN OKINO - Representing AJA Council Mr. Okino spoke on behalf of the AJA Council, which consists of Club 100, 100th Batallion, the 442nd Batallion, MIS and Sons and Daughters. He shared that they received from President Hideo Gushiken of the Korean War Veterans a year ago and responded. The AJA Council concurs with the two previous speakers, they are not against the memorial, but they are not in concurrence as to the site and recommend that the committee select another site besides Liliuokalani. He said he would keep it short because otherwise he would be repeating the same as the other speakers. • EMILE WERY - Representing Korean War Veterans Mr. Wery said he would state what he shared at the last meeting, this memorial is not for any particular war, it's for all the wars from the Civil War right through the present in Afghanistan and Iraq. It does not take away from anybody or anything. It is not posted foot on the garden, its on the side of the garden. The area is just an open area. A war memorial that honors the men that have died from his community, does not in anyway threaten anyone. Service organizations have different criteria. American Legion is the largest and they go up like a pyramid and on the top are two - Combat Infantry Association and The Purple Heart. They all advocate for the same thing, one thing in common and that's for the veterans. This memorial is for the veterans. Kalakaua Park is not appropriate, it's too small, its already being used by the Council Center for their presentations. The area by the Vietnam Memorial is state Veterans Advisory Committee Page 4 March 19, 2009 property, the state has indicated it will be used for a parking lot. That's what they've indicated. We already have memorials on Liliuokalani Park, it's the Centennial Memorial. Again, this does not take away from anything, it just adds to it. Its not in the garden, its off to the right. DWAYNE MUKAI - Representing The Sons & Daughters of AJA Veterans And Japanese Community Association of Hawaii Dwayne stated that he's on a dozen boards, but at this meeting he is representing both the Sons and Daughters of AJA Veterans (President) and Japanese Community Association of Hawaii (Board Member) so he could answer questions about their testimony as well. Dwayne thanked the County of Hawaii and the Veterans Advisory Committee for allowing him to testify. He commended the Department of Parks and Recreation for providing documents he requested. He also apologized for the volume of written testimony he submitted, but felt members should have as much information as possible to make an educated decision on this. The Sons and Daughters strongly support the construction of the War Memorial, what they object to is the location. As previously mentioned, they feel there are other more suitable locations for this monument. Personally he even signed the petition supporting the Korean War Monument, but the petition he signed, there may be a different petition, it did not state any type of location. He said the documents he submitted speaks for itself, but if there are any questions, he'll be here to answer. PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES — February 19, 2009 The minutes of the February 19, 2009 meeting were approved as submitted. REPORT ON CEMETERIES — STATE VETERANS ADVISORY BOARD Hawaii Island - East Hawaii Representative Mr. Herring Kalua Hawaii Island - West Hawaii Representative Mr. Herb Lum Mr. Herring Kalua - Report Veterans Cemeteries I and II Mr. Kalua said he didn't have anything new to report, but shared that Mr. Joe Flores was going to request the report of the Inspection that was done at the cemeteries. Chairwoman Fox said Mr. Flores forgot to bring the report to the meeting, so he'll email it to her and she will have it disseminated before the next meeting. Mr. Kalua said the Secretary of Veterans of the United States Shinseki informed them at the State Veterans Advisory Board meeting that the Veterans Care Home passed its certification. Chairwoman Fox looked to Mr. Ribbentrop for confirmation. He said they are awaiting written notification. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 5 March 19, 2009 Mr. Herb Lum - Report Veterans Cemetery III - West Hawaii Expansion Proiect Update - Movement of Columbariums Mr. Lum reported that this past Monday Willocks Construction Company moved the three filled columbaria from its location to its temporary location. All went in very good order. He was very impressed by the protocol that they followed moving each individual columbaria, it was moved in such a way that it hardly tilted at all. The staff of the Department of Parks and Recreation stuffed the individual units with bubble wrap in order to keep the urns in place. There were no incidents of urns tilting or dropping. They did an excellent job and it is a tribute to all that were involved including OVS, DAGS, P &R, Willocks Construction and volunteers. The columbaria is now located on the Kona -Makai side of burial field #1. It is in plain site in a very good location. It will remain there until the new cremain area is completed and then will be moved again to the new cremain area. Director Fitzgerald added that concrete fillers would be installed in front of the columbarias to protect them from being hit by vehicles. Agrees that it looks like they all did an excellent job. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Veterans Cemetery III - West Hawaii Reforestation Proiect (Dr. Richard Stevens submitted a written report dated March 13, 2009 - copy attached.) Veterans Cemetery III - West Hawaii Columbaria Relocation - Communication #03 -09 Chairwoman Fox said members should've received a copy of the February 27th letter Director Fitzgerald sent to all families who have loved ones remains interred in the columbaria informing them of movement. Director Fitzgerald apologized for not stating where columbarias were being located to just to let families know it was being moved, but remaining on the cemetery property. He received several calls from families asking about where it was being moved. Proposed Veterans Monument to be erected at Liliuokalani Gardens by the Korean War Veterans Chairwoman Fox said the committee received six different items of correspondence on this matter. She asked members if they have received and read the communications received. She confirmed that the Kona members received the correspondence. She called a five minute recess so members could review documents and think about questions they may have. Meeting will be called back to order at 3:45pm. RECESS (5 Minutes) Veterans Advisory Committee Page 6 March 19, 2009 Chairwoman Fox called meeting back to order and asked members if they had an opportunity to review documents and asked if they had any comments or questions. Mr.. Delbert Nishimoto said the County of Hawaii Resolution No. 631 -08 (Draft 2) spells whereas, the Korean War... Mayor Kim was the Mayor at the time of this resolution and Mr. Gushiken was the President of Chapter. At the bottom it states - Be it resolved the the Council and states the location. It talks about Liliuokalani Gardens, Kalakaua Park, or next to Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He asked if we're looking at three sites? Chairwoman Fox said her personal reading of the resolution is that it states that its a Korean War Memorial. Her understanding of what is being proposed is a war memorial so its totally different, since it states the Korean War is a forgotten war so it would just be for the Korean War. What we have on our plate right now is a War Memorial. She asked if there were further questions. Mr. Lee commented that in Hawaii we have the Aloha spirit, we share our things so yeah, we should share our parks, it's a peace park and because of the veterans we have peace so why not put it there. Chairwoman Fox asked for any further comments. She said she discussed voting process with Deputy Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen and there is a checklist. We will first vote on whether or not we approve of the design, just the design, not where its being put, whether we approve of the memorial the way it was proposed to us or not. Chairwoman Fox asked each member individually, whether they voted YES (In favor of the design) or NO (Against the design). She also described the design of the monument to Kona members: It as an open pavilion with a "Y" shaped wall with the names of everybody who passed away in all the wars starting with the Civil War up to current. One of the walls will be blank so they can add names to it. There will be four life size statutes of a soldier, a sailor, a marine and an airman all bearing arms on top of the wall. On the outside there will be a circle, flags and benches for people to sit down. It will be lighted. The Korean War Veterans will be paying for all costs relating to this project, including the construction, maintenance and care. Member voted individually: 1) Results of "Do we approve of the design ?" Passed (Design approved) Results: 8 Ayes 1 No The next item committee voted on was the location of Liliuokalani Gardens, if members do not agree with it being put at Liliuokalani Park, vote no. If members agree with it being put at Liliuokalani Park, vote yes. 2) Results of "Do we approve the proposed location of Liliuokalani Gardens ?" Did Not Pass (Members Disagree with Proposed Location) Results: 1 Ave 8 Noes Veterans Advisory Committee Page 7 March 19, 2009 Following the vote, Chairwoman Fox informed the members of the Korean War Veterans Organization that were present, the committee agrees that the memorial needs to be done, and agrees with the design, but opposes the location site as Liliuokalani Gardens because we've only been given one location which is Liliuokalani Gardens. According to the letter Managing Director Bill Takaba sent to Mr. Montague, this project including its design and location must receive the approval of the Mayor's Veterans Advisory Committee. This committee does not approve the location, it approves the design, but does not approve the location. Chairwoman Fox said a letter will be sent to the Mayor from this committee informing him of the committee's decision. A member of the Korean War Veterans stood up from the back of the room and spoke. He said you mean to tell me that only a handful to say yes or no. Yes we had 10,000 signatures on a petition signed by the people, but you mean the people who signed the petition had no say in that. He said he thinks that's very wrong. Chairwoman Fox said your organization went to the Mayor, the Mayor said he agrees with it providing these six things. #1 was: this project including its design and location must receive the approval of the Mayor's Veterans Advisory Committee. That is this committee and we received lots of communication from organizations around the community and we've had a few of them speak here, and we've made our decision on what we found. We think the memorial is a wonderful thing, we just don't think it needs to go to Liliuokalani. The same member again responded that he knows that, but what he's getting at is the 10,000 people that signed the petition. Chairwoman Fox said she can't answer that, KWV organization went to the Mayor, this is what the Mayor sent. The member said so its up to the Mayor right, is that what you mean? Chairwoman Fox said the Mayor said the criteria has to be met and then it has to go to the County Council. Well KWV didn't meet the criteria as far as the location, come back and give us a different location and we'll go from there. Okay. Member responded okay and said thank you. Chairwoman Fox said committee would send a letter to the Mayor to let him know how we voted. The members of the Hawaii County Veterans Advisory Committee recommends that the Korean War Veterans organization look for an alternate site. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 8 March 19, 2009 NEW BUSINESS None EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS Veterans Cemetery II - Complaints of Unfair Treatment and Enforcement of Rules Director Robert Fitzgerald reported that there were a couple complaints that P &R followed up with relating to unfair treatment of patrons at Veterans Cemetery II. He apologized on behalf of the department and the P &R employee that was involved in the complaint and the matter is being handled. We ask our employees to be more compassionate to our patrons that visit our cemeteries. Hopefully this will not happen again, he said his ears and eyes are open and if there are complaints we will fully investigate and take appropriate action when its inappropriate. Apologies again from P &R that this situation even occurred and he and Deputy Director Clayton Honma will be monitoring what goes on in the cemeteries. He praised the committee members for caring and said the patrons that visit the cemeteries will be treated better. Chairwoman Fox asked if he communicated with the two ladies that attended last months meeting. Director Fitzgerald responded that he did not call them as he thought they would attend today's meeting, he will call them tomorrow. ANNOUNCEMENTS Alamo and National Rent A Car - Discount Rates for Veterans and Their Families Mr. Gaspar announced that at the last American Legion meeting, the guest speaker was Mr. Harold Lono from Alamo and National Rent A Car. He spoke about marketing and promotions and offered the veterans and their families a discount for renting cars. Phone number to call Phyllis Miyamura (Sales Coordinator) 808 - 836 -6000. He suggested that each organization assign a contact person relating to the discount. Chairwoman Fox asked members to let members of their organizations know about the discount. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 3pm at the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney and video - conferencing at the Kona Mayor's Office conference room. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 3:58 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Santos, Secretary