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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-11-18 Veteran Advisory Committee MinutesVETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, November 18, 2010, 3:00 p.m. Prosecutor's Office (Hilo) and Kona Mayor's Office (Via Videoconferencing) Present Absent Members Don Bennett Carolle Brulee- Wilson Caleb Churchill Penny Fox Edward Lee Delbert Nishimoto Emile Wery George Yamamoto Kona Mayor's Office (Via Videoconferencing) Members David Carlson Antonio Gaspar Minoru Hanato Robert Welter Guests (Kona) Tom Leone Joseph Nimori Tobias Alfredo Ex- Officio (Kona) Robert Fitzgerald, Director,P &R Guests (Hilo) Juan Babiak (Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home) Ex- Officio (Hilo) None Also Present (Hilo) Nathalie Santos, Secretary Herbert Lum, State Veterans Advisory Board - WH Member Keith Ribbentrop, State Veterans Advisory Board — EH Member Renee Schoen, Deputy Corporation Counsel Wendall Kekumu George Mukai Gilbert Sampaia CALL TO ORDER • Chairperson Penny Fox called the meeting to order at 3:05pm and announced that there were 12 members present. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 2 November 18, 2010 STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC None. PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES — August 19, 2010 The minutes of the August 19, 2010 meeting were approved as submitted. (Correction to the October 21 st report, there was no meeting because of problems with video conferencing equipment, Mr. Antonio Gaspar attended the meeting, but an error marked him both present and absent). REPORT ON CEMETERIES — STATE VETERANS ADVISORY BOARD Hawaii Island - East Hawaii Representative — Newly Appointed Member — Mr. Keith Ribbentrop Mr. Keith Ribbentrop replaced Dr. Norman Stahl as the new East Hawaii representative of the State Veterans Advisory Board. (Attached are notes of the November 5th State Veterans Advisory Board Meeting which includes the status of CIP and VA Cemetery Funds.) Mr. Ribbentrop reported that East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery 11 — Columbaria Design Plans were resubmitted to the County Department of Parks and Recreation for review. They are looking forward to getting it back. Frank Salvas, Director of VA in Washington DC is very anxious to get the project going. He visited all of the Big Island Cemeteries and was very pleased with the maintenance of the cemeteries and appreciated the improvements made. Mr. Ribbentrop also reported on other items not related to the cemeteries which are on the attached notes. Hawaii Island - West Hawaii Representative - Mr. Herb Lum Mr. Lum reported that the first draft of design plans for the columbaria were returned by P &R with request to have columbaria facing inward like spokes of a wheel instead of parallel. Mark Moses liked that idea and requested DAGS revise plans. Plans were redone and are set to go with that change. Mr. Lum also said that the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery III — Phase IIC Project is considered to be 99% complete for the past 10 months. The items that remain, are installing the water meter and the inner Iron Gate to help keep the goats out. There is a problem with the figures on the proposed design for the gate. Mr. Lum will work with Mr. John Grogan to request a photo of the revised design. The VA does not want the 6th figure to be on gate which was the Hawaiian warrior. They want only the five services to be represented on the gate. Mr. Lum also shared there is a water leakage at the cemetery and heard that part of the problem may be calcification because of the type of pipes. Don't know if that is indeed the reason. If there is a continuing problem, P &R would be responsible to repair under the maintenance provisions. If it's a problem due to the specs, than the state should be Veterans Advisory Committee Page 3 November 18, 2010 responsible to fix it. Mr. Lum asked the Kona representatives if they had any information on whether or not the leaks are due to a spec or a maintenance problem. Director Fitzgerald said the problem won't be resolved until the water meter is installed. He believes the leaks are located in the lava rocks. According to the West Hawaii Parks District Superintendent Deac, the leaks in the cemetery itself have been fixed and his recommendation is that when the water meter is installed, they can really gauge what the actual consumption is. Mr. Lum said if it is a problem in the specs (the type of pipe needed to go through lava fields), it needs to be communicated to the state so they can fix problem before project is accepted, otherwise it becomes a maintenance problem and the County will be responsible to fix problem every time it happens. Director Fitzgerald said once the meter is installed, they can measure where the leak is. He doesn't think it's our problem if leak is in the lava field. Mr. Robert Welter said that Dr. Stevens mentioned they have had to manually turn the water on and off on the hill because the pressure inbound has reached as high as 70 lbs and above so its blowing out the low pressure waterlines on the hill. A pressure regulator is needed for the system. Chairperson Fox stated isn't there one already installed and Mr. Emile Wery said one should have been put in during set up. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION Director Fitzgerald said the only items he had to report were the installation of the new gate and water leak which has already been covered. He said he will wait until the water meter is installed to determine water consumption at the cemetery since usage is a big concern. Director Fitzgerald recommended adding the Rollaway Tent to New Business for the next meeting. Funeral/Burial Procedures Mr. Hanato shared concerns regarding standardizing burial procedures. In Kona, Parks staff said they have to go by the standard set by Oahu which they don't follow anyway. In Kona, from church they go to committal shelter and have another service there and then they go to the grave or the columbaria and have another service. In Hilo they go from the church directly to the burial area where there is a roll away set up, they have a service there and it's done. He said that is how it used to be in Kona, and the new way is very hard for families and extra work for county employees. Kona is trying to listen to Honolulu people stating that is how it has to be done, but he knows that is not how Hilo does it. In Hilo they go from the church directly to the grave site. Mr. Hanato suggests Kona eliminates having a service at the committal shelter unless the family requests to use it because they don't have a church or mortuary to go to. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 4 November 18, 2010 Director Fitzgerald said our forms could have another added checkbox on whether or not they want a tent over the gravesite. Mr. Hanato said some families like to have just one service right at the grave. Mr. Nishimoto asked if the County of Hawaii is allowing direct burials. Mr. Nishimoto said the committal shelter is used for safety reasons and the body is taken away to be buried. Chairperson Fox said we do direct burials in Hilo and Mr. Nishimoto said it's because we're allowing it. Mr. Hanato said we do direct burials because the family wants to see the casket lowered and some families want to help. Mr. Nishimoto said we should do it and not listen to the policies of Oahu. Chairperson Fox said let's do whatever we have to do to make it easier for P &R staff to prepare for burial, let's add another block to use committal shelter or if they will be doing a direct burial. Director Fitzgerald will look at forms and see how it can be revised. Mr. Nishimoto said in Kaneohe they had a problem with the sides of a grave collapsing and so they don't want people to stand around the grave. Reforestation Proiect (Members reviewed the November 17th Reforestation Report submitted by Dr. Richard Stevens) (Copy attached) Veterans Cemetery II — East Hawaii — Columbaria Units Design Chairperson Fox said that all members should have received a copy of the revised approved design plan and photos. It originally came in where the columbaria units would have a front and back side. We requested that it would be a spoke design so that there is no front or back. She asked if anyone had questions and there were none. Certificate of Appreciation Ms. Brulee- Wilson said that back in March she requested a Certificate of Appreciation be presented to an employee of PTA (Pohakuloa Training Area) and at the time she did not have her name — she has now learned that her name is Kathy Kawakami. She does a lot of volunteer work at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery. She wants to resurrect that we send her an award for her efforts for the work that she's done. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 5 November 18, 2010 NEW BUSINESS West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery III — Water Payment Director Fitzgerald said the water meter needs to be installed and the new company from California that owns the water rights has not yet gone to the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) regarding charges. It may take awhile so we have some time before they actually start charging for water usage. Mr. Nishimoto said Committee members need to testify at the PUC hearing against the County being charged for water at the cemetery. Chairperson Fox concurred that we can show strong support against being charged. We'll get the word out when we are notified about the public hearing. Veterans Cemeteries — Rule 7, Section 5.02 — Decorations and Offerings Chairperson Fox said we will move this item to February's agenda when Deputy Director Honma can attend the meeting. Membership Chairperson Fox said if your term is expiring, please let Nathalie know who will be replacing you or if you will be replacing yourself. She will get the necessary forms to you. Mr. Brulee- Wilson asked if the individual on the list does not contact Nathalie and has not been attending meetings, what standard of procedure is in place to remove these individuals from the committee. Chairperson Fox asked Deputy Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen for clarification if the Hawaii County Code would need to be updated. Deputy Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen stated that if a particular committee member's absence prevents this committee from meeting quorum, she thinks the statute states for more than two times, then you can request that person be replaced. Chairperson Fox responded that we have asked numerous times and the response is that the organization doesn't meet anymore. The organization still exists, but they don't meet anymore, they don't have very many members that show up, they don't have quorum. Deputy Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen said then the next step would be to change the code to remove them from membership and decrease the membership number. Ms. Brulee- Wilson said it sounds like three separate events and is wondering how long that process would take for each of these events. This isn't something that just happened last week, it has been ongoing for awhile. There are people that want to serve on this committee, but can't get on because there are people on the committee filling slots and don't want to be here. We need a little more information on the procedure, how long process will take and what's going to be done. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 6 November 18, 2010 Chairperson Fox asked if a public hearing would be necessary to remove an organization from the committee. Deputy Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen responded "no ". This board has already discussed the issue, the department would need to submit legislation to the County Council which would require two readings at Council. Mr. Wery asked if it should be put out from the organization. Chairperson Fox said one of the organizations we are talking about is "Veterans of Vietnam War". Wendall Kekuma hasn't shown up to a meeting in almost two years and we are unable to contact him. She also contacted the last person that served as the Commander of the Veterans of the Vietnam War, who said they don't have a quorum and they don't meet anymore. Mr. Wery asked what it would take to replace that organization with another organization. Deputy Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen said first of all you would probably want to show the Council that this particular organization is no longer in existence and you have made efforts to contact their representative and they have not responded, therefore, they should no longer be a part of this committee. At the same time you could suggest that another organization be represented. Mr. Wery said there is another organization that should be here, the Combat Infantry Association. Chairperson Fox summarized discussion stating that the Veterans of the Vietnam War organization no longer holds meetings and we have been unable to contact Wendall Kekumu their representative for almost two years. We are talking about removing the Veterans of the Vietnam War and replacing them with a representative from the Combat Infantry Association. She asked if there was a motion. Mr. Wery made a motion to remove the Veterans of the Vietnam War organization and replace slot with a representative from the Combat Infantry Association. Chairperson Fox asked if there is any discussion and asked the West Hawaii members if they know of any organization that meets for Veterans of the Vietnam War on the west side. Mr. Tom Leone said this is a problem and feels that the VA offices should post a notice because there are a lot of Vietnam War veterans that go there. Chairperson Fox said this has been ongoing and we have been trying to get this fixed for two years, so we would like to make a decision and do it and if they want to get back on the committee, they can talk to us and we can do it again. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 7 November 18, 2010 Mr. Lum said we may have complicated the situation, we have basically two problems, one is the problem of an organization belonging to this committee, and another is the individual who is appointed and not attending. There should be a procedure to follow. Chairperson Fox said the procedure is that this Committee has to make a decision and let Director Fitzgerald know. The Department of Parks and Recreation has to change legislation, it has to be read twice at the County Council and once changed at the County Council, and then we can do what we want. I have a motion that we're going to remove the Veterans of the Vietnam War and replace them with the Combat Infantry Association. Mr. Nishimoto said this committee is appointed by the Mayor, so we shouldn't be discussing about the club. Mr. Wery said correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand Veterans organizations are suppose to be on this committee and their representative is here for them, not individuals. Mr. Nishimoto said it is interesting because it is listed by organization. Ms. Brulee- Wilson said individual has not attended meetings for two years and the issue is that the Veterans organization they represent no longer exists. There is only so much room for veterans organizations on this committee, there are three basic elements involved, get this individual removed as a representative, get the organization removed as an organization and get this new organization on the list. Mr. Nishimoto said you have to realize that the Mayor appoints members to this committee not members of the committee. Chairperson Fox said that is correct, this motion is to make a recommendation to the Mayor. Mr. Nishimoto said okay we can make a recommendation. Chairperson Fox said what the Mayor decides to do or not do is his decision. Mr. Welter said my date expires 12/31/10 and I submitted Joe Nimori's name. After 12/31/10 I'm out of here, that is the end of my term. Chairperson Fox said yes, but other organizations for example the Interpreter's Club, doesn't have a lot of members, so Mr. Yamamoto has stayed on committee past his term, because there is no one else to replace him. Secretary Nathalie Santos recommended making two separate motions instead of stating we recommend removing the Veterans of Vietnam War and replacing with Combat Infantry Association, keep motions separate. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 8 November 18, 2010 Chairperson Fox confirmed what Nathalie suggested, we're going to change the motion recommend to the Mayor removal of the Veterans of Vietnam War. Mr. Lum asked if we are certain that the organization does not exist. Chairperson Fox said the last commander confirmed they have not met in over one year and they do not foresee meeting anytime soon. They do not have a quorum or an organizational meeting scheduled and currently organization does not exist. MOTION — Remove Slot for Veterans of Vietnam War from Committee Mr. Wery made a motion to recommend to the Mayor removal of the Veterans of Vietnam War organization from the Veterans Advisory Committee. The motion was seconded. Everyone voted in favor of the motion. The motion is carried. Mr. Wery made a motion to recommend to the Mayor that the Combat Infantry Association be added to this Committee. The motion was seconded. Mr. Lum said the organization should communicate to the Veterans Advisory Committee or the Mayor that they are interested in joining the committee. They should be treated as the other organizations that asked to be a part of this committee. Secretary Nathalie Santos stated we received a letter from the Commander of the Combat Infantry Association, not specifically saying they wanted to be represented, he just submitted his application form and since there isn't an opening, we couldn't respond in that way, he would only qualify for an Independent slot. They could provide another letter expressing interest to have their organization represented on this committee. Mr. Lee asked about Independent slots. Chairperson Fox said according to the Hawaii County Code, there are (3) Independent slots available and they are all filled. There was further discussion about adding other organizations. Mr. Nishimoto suggested that we look at the organizations with older members that may not be able to send representation. He also asked about adding more Independent slots. Mr. Wery said that as organizations are removed from Committee, other organizations should be added rather than adding more independent slots. Chairperson Fox agreed, however, it's up to the Mayor and County Council, we can only make recommendations. She asked if there was any further discussion MOTION — Add Slot for Combat Infantry Association to Committee Chairperson Fox repeated Mr. Wery's motion to recommend to the Mayor that the Combat Infantry Association be added to this Committee. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 9 November 18, 2010 VOTE: There were 11 ayes and 1 member (David Carlson) voted against the motion. Motion passed. Chairperson Fox said Mr. Gilbert Sampaia of BIRMA has not been able to attend meetings in awhile. Secretary Nathalie Santos said she has written to Commander Wymond Wilds several times and he has not responded. Chairperson Fox said they do still meet. Mr. Wery said that BIRMA does want to have somebody here and they are going to replace Mr. Sampaia. Meetings Chairperson Fox said we haven't had quorum in about two months and we've had quorum about every other month, we were talking about scheduling meetings every other month which might make it easier. Mr. Wery said if people aren't showing up it doesn't matter if it's monthly, bi- monthly or quarterly or whenever it's set. He suggested leaving it the way it is. Ms. Brulee- Wilson asked what the process is for someone that wants to resign from the Committee. Secretary Nathalie Santos stated member should send a letter of resignation addressed to the Mayor and send her a copy. Ms. Brulee- Wilson asked if a reason would need to be stated and Secretary Santos responded that it is up to the person, but a reason is not required. Chairperson Fox said meetings will continue to be held monthly. Meetings will not be held during December and January. Meetings are not normally held in December because everyone is always so busy and the West Hawaii Mayor's Office will be moving during the month of January to the new West Hawaii Civic Center, they will not be set up for videoconferencing until February. Director Fitzgerald said his Kona office will also be moving to the West Hawaii Civic Center at the end of January. The next meeting will be held in February 2011 and meetings will be scheduled monthly thereafter. The 2011 Meeting Schedule will be sent to members. EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS YUKIO OKUTSU STATE VETERANS HOME Juan Babiak of the (Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home) announced that they officially closed the 2006 VA State Veterans Home Construction Project. They have had two admissions so far, to the adult day health program. They are both private pay and there are eight others who are requesting admission once the facility is certified by the VA and the state for Medicaid payments. The current rate is $85 per day, which is above the Medicaid rate of $79 per day. Once they are certified for Medicaid, they will be able to Veterans Advisory Committee Page 10 November 18, 2010 get these eight additional patients admitted. They may or may not have partial co- payment for that care, but that would significantly reduce their out of pocket funding. The next part is the census at the nursing home has been low in October and the first part of November. They have been having about 79 patients, they do a lot of rehab type patients so they have a lot of discharges who go home, which is a good thing, however, it also makes it difficult on numbers. They began working with Hilo Medical Center on their Discharge Planning Committee which is helpful. Mr. Babiak said they would like to invite service organizations and their members to come in for a tour either individually or as a group. We'd also like to pre- register veterans for the veterans home facility. We can also contact veterans who have not taken advantage of the Veterans benefits programs, homeowner programs or claims for disabilities. There are also a lot of veterans who do not utilize the VA Health Care System. Their eligibility can be verified ahead of time, which would also facilitate admittance into the hospital and for rehabilitation. They also have the ability to do respite patients both in the nursing home and in the adult day health care program. He would like to get the names and email addresses for the different service organizations and obtain their approval to send information on a monthly basis. Ms. Brulee- Wilson asked Juan what percentage was or are veterans and what percentage are civilians. Mr. Babiak responded that 25% can be spouses of veterans and they are currently running about 15 to 20 %. We were at 93 patients and almost 23% were spouses. Presently we have three females that were veterans themselves and then the spouses. There are also two couples. Mr. Babiak responded to questions posed by Ms. Brulee- Wilson about the chapel, scheduling services and about meals at the facility. Mr. Babiak said pastors from different denominations can schedule services through Momi of their Recreation Department. ANNOUNCEMENTS Veterans Benefits — Website with Information Ms. Brulee- Wilson announced that the DAV website (Chairperson Fox is the DAV Chapter Commander) has some very important information relating to a lot of changes regarding veteran's benefits for the better. (Go to DAV.org, Chapter 9) If you have any questions, please call Chairperson Fox. Funeral Detail Ms. Brulee asked about funeral detail which was reported on during a Veterans Day Parade meeting. Mr. Wery said the lack of funding has meant that all of the support for burials that use to come from Honolulu, is now organized by the National Guard. They have a group that Veterans Advisory Committee Page 11 November 18, 2010 will facilitate it for this island. The Air Guard has a Color Guard and a Firing Squad. The Army National Guard will also put a group together. Chairperson Fox said regarding Color Guard and Burial Details, there have been some issues on this side of the island with not having burial details because of finances, but the Air National Guard now has their own burial detail and the Army National Guard is doing it here too. Mr. Lum said the Marine Corp will send a 13 person squad to every marine burial on the island. Mr. Hanato said they've been working with the National Guard Unit from Hilo. When there is a funeral on the west side they ask the Kona veterans to help them with firing and work with them too. The mortuary also calls them when there are only a few people able to come in and they help in those cases. They also help with the Navy. Wreaths Across America — December 11 2010 Mr. Gaspar said that on December I I' h, Saturday at lam the Wreaths Across America ceremony will be held at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery III. The DAV and the American Legion will be assisting the Civil Air Patrol to place wreaths on the graves. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be scheduled in February 2011. Meeting adjourned at 4:12pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathct.LieiScmt"os -, Secretary