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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-11-09 Fire Commission Minutes HAWAI‘I COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2011 DEPARTMENT OF LIQUOR CONTROL CONFERENCE ROOM 101 AUPUNI STREET, SUITE 230, HILO, HAWAI‘I CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Taniguchi at 10:00 a.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Chairman Toby Taniguchi Commissioner Laurie Bass Commissioner Kimo Lee Commissioner Kaloa Robinson Commissioner Luahiwa Namahoe Commissioner Greg Henkel Commissioner Byron Moku ABSENT: Vice Chairman Scott Stabo A quorum was present. ALSO PRESENT: Lincoln Ashida, Corporation Counsel Jennifer Kualii, Fire Commission secretary Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Renwick Victorino, Deputy Fire Chief Noel Ah Choy, Private Secretary to Fire Chief APPROVAL OF ADDENDUM AND/OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA None. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Henkel moved to accept the Regular Meeting Minutes of September 14, 2011. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Namahoe. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 2 Chairman Taniguchi noted corrections to the Regular Session Minutes of September 14, 2011 as follows: repair work goes to a sole Page 5 Î Chairman Taniguchi intended to ask if source provider, or if it were to be bid out. nd Page 8 Î Under New Projects/Business, 2 bullet: Equipments should be equipment . st Page 9 - 1 sentence should be the 2011 Assistance to Fire Fighters grant process. application Minutes approved as amended and carried unanimously by voice vot Commissioner Robinson noted a correction to the Regular Session Minutes of October 12, 2011 as follows: nd Page 3 Î Under Capital Improvement Projects, Makalei Fire Station, 2 bullet: trash should be as opposed to thrash. Minutes approved as amended and carried unanimously by voice vot APPROVAL OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS None. CHIEF’S REPORT Budget: FY 2012-13 Budget Final draft submitted to the Department of Finance for review Submitted a program budget Submitted three supplemental budget requests Funding for 12 unfunded fire fighter positions o Purchase of two Class A fire pumper apparatus o Funding for an unfunded fire equipment mechanic position o Commissioner Henkel asked that when the 16 fire fighters go to EMS training, does that open up 16 fire fighter positions. Chief Rosario replied no, they are held in their positions; theyÓre placed on in-service training. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 3 Alternative Funding and Grants : FEMA FY 2009 Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant: (Personal Protective Equipment). No new updates. FY 2010 Assistance to Fire Fighters SAFER (Staffing for Adequat Emergency Response). Working on completing the video for volunteer fire fighter recruitment. FY 2010 CDBG Î Tanker/Tender Î Phala Fire: Freedom Fire was determined by the State to be in non-compliance with their tax exemption and Chief Rosario worked with the State Tax Office to get that cleared. The apparatus is targeted to be thth shipped on November 30 out of San Diego and should arrive on December 6. It was determined that the rust proofing did not have to be done so the breaking in was done around Georgia and it was put on a rail car to San Diego to FY 2011 CDBG Î Fire Apparatus Î Phoa Fire: Currently awaiting for Purchasing Division to send out bid announcement. FY 2011 DOT Highway Safety Grant: Extrication training completed in Kona, Waimea, and Hilo. Emphasis was on electrical cars, and the Department was provided a full set of extrication tools which will be assigned to the South Kohala Station. Chairman Taniguchi asked if the air brake problems on the ladder truck were repaired. Chief Rosario replied they were, and it is back in service. FY 2012 DOT Highway Safety Grant: No new updates. Capital Improvement Projects: Makalei Fire Station: Continuing on schedule o Driveway laid out o Front vegetation was cleared from the highway o Trusses went up and roofing project continues o Completion scheduled for the end of summer of 2012 o Administration & Support Facility:No new updates. : Central Fire StationThe State requested a letter from the Department stating if they were still interested in the property in the Lanikila Housing area; Chief Rosario did submit a letter to the State. Kawailani Fire Station: Was not able to meet with Councilmember Onishi to discuss concerns with the Kawailani Road Widening Project. Chief Rosario feels the HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 4 Department needs to seek an alternative site for the station as the road project will have a significant impact on the operation of that station. KaÒ Public Safety Package: PunaluÒu Ocean Safety Tower: o Existing tower will be completed this week Waiting for approval by Finance to purchase a new apex type tower NÒlehu and Phala Volunteer Garages: o Personnel from the Department of Public Works is now assigned to this project Captain Glenn Honda and the volunteer captains are inventorying the garages to ensure all the parts are in the package PaÒauilo: No new updates. DPW ADA Compliance, HazMat Abatement: No new updates. Pohoiki Radio Relocation: Waiting for FCC clearance to switch to the new site. Chairman Taniguchi asked what the timeframe for the Central Fire Station project is. Chief Rosario replied that project has been ongoing for approximately eight years. The Department tries to get the land and the site first and then obtain funding to actually build the station; will need to look at alternative funding for this project. Central Fire Station is in the tsunami zone, built in the 1930s and itÓs at the point where it needs to be repaired or replaced so itÓs difficult to give a timeline. Commissioner Moku asked if it would be possible to identify a st date or deadline for the various projects. Chief Rosario replied he could. Promotions and Hiring: Internal Recruitments: Fire Rescue Specialist o Fire/Hazard Materials Specialist o Fire Communications Supervisor o th Fire Equipment Operator Î written exam scheduled for November 14 o Fire Captain Î written exams held on October 24th; the Assessment Center is o thth scheduled for November 17 and 18 in Hilo Captain Gantry Andrade promoted as Battalion Chief of the Prevention Bureau o Fire Equipment Mechanic o Human Resources Technician I o Commissioner Henkel asked if the ocean safety recruitments were filled. Chief Rosario replied that the Water Safety Officer 4 for East HawaiÒi submitted a voluntary demotion request to Water Safety Officer 2 which was h HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 5 (WSO 4) is currently being filled through a rotational basis of eligible water safety officers. Recruitment going out to fill vacancies that have been created by the closure of long standing medical leaves. The Department will get an eligible list and hire off that list. Chairman Taniguchi asked for a timeline for the hiring of AC1 and AC2. Chief Rosario replied that he sent out a request to the Department of Human Resources to re-evaluate the minimum qualifications of the two positions and was informed that the minimum qualifications could not be changed. Chief Rosario inst DepartmentÓs HR Specialist to start the recruitment process and hopes to have the positions filled by January. The TA program has been working well, everyone is getting the exposure and understanding of what the positions entails to better provide an opportunity to do well on the assessment. Emergency Operations Bureau : Chief Rosario passed out a chart of HFD Medic Responses. Chief Rosario indicated that Commissioner Bass requested informa runs the ambulances go out on and how many people are actually transported. Basically, approximately 70% of the total EMS calls were actually transported. The other 25% is broken down as to the various reasons; roughly 1,200 calls were canceled en route. Chairman Taniguchi asked if the numbers have been going up or going down. Chief Rosario replied it has been pretty stable; roughly the cal same. From the week prior to Thanksgiving through the New YearÓs, EMS is the busiest times. Chairman Taniguchi asked if it would be possible to add items such as the static displays done in the community. Chief Rosario replied it is under their community service. Chief Rosario indicated that EMS calls have grown between 500 Î 1000 calls per year and total call volume with fire calls generally grows about 3,000 Î 5,000 total calls every year. Commissioner Bass asked what is the cost per call and cost per run. Chief Rosario replied he would see if he is able to generate something that shows a cost per run. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 6 Chief Rosario stated that most of their search and rescue calls become an EMS call because the patient is transported. Special Operations: Attended a Risk Management meeting to identify hazards of beach areas. o Looking at ways the Department can help notify the proper authorities to assist tourists when they suffer tragedies. Upgraded Memorandum of Agreement with the Coast Guard Search & Rescue. o Finalized the Standard Operating Procedures and Disciplinary Procedures for o Ocean Safety. Hazmat : Training sponsored by Department of Health for Hazcat device. o Hazcat is a device that assists the Department in categorizing unknown hazardous materials. The DOH provided the Department with the tool kits, one for each side of the island, and it saved the Department $7,000 from purchasing the k Training done through the Gas Company on propane type emergency for both o East and West HawaiÒi. Rescue: Project Lifesaver: An identification homing device that Alzhei o around their wrist when they leave their homes and travel on their own. The device allows the rescue company to track down the patients and get them back to safety a lot quicker. Maui heard about this project and Battalion Chief Gerald Kosaki went to Maui to do some training and orientation on the program. Chief Rosario stated that for Rescue Boat 2-2, the fuel tank is currently being repaired in Kona and the vendor is also looking at making some additional repairs to the boat itself to extend the life of the boat; Rescue Boat 2-2 is the spare rescue boat. Chief Rosario also noted the trailer for the Rescue Boat 7-7 in Kona was replaced through the Sayre Foundation. A new Billy Pugh net was purchased and awaiting arrival of it. Finalizing some search and rescue mission drills with the Coast Guard. Ocean Safety: Waiting for final approval from Finance to purchase the new surveyor towers for o the PunaluÒu Beach area and for the north end of Hpuna Beach. Received approval to purchase ultra violet protection garments for water safety o officers. Received approval to purchase snorkel and dive masks for each lifeguard as part o of their protective equipment. Through the Sayre Foundation, the Department purchased four new rescue o boards, eight megaphones, four binoculars, two Automatic External Deliberators and 13 cases to provide protection for the existing AEDs. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 7 Shark protocol will be going out to all water safety officers a o personnel. Support Services Division : Emergency Operations Bureau: Two MICT interns that went through the Honolulu program returned back to o rd HawaiÒi island on Oct 3 to finish their rotation assignments here; they are currently still running on the rotations with an estimated graduation time of January. Placed FMS Chris Honda with the Training Division to handle the EMT training o class. Conducted blood borne pathogen seminars and blood pressure screening for o various business along West and East HawaiÒi. Sixteen fire fighters are currently in the process of applying for the next MICT o class which is targeted to start in January. Implemented program for 8-hour EMS personnel to go back on line to run as o primary MICT to keep in touch with the changing trends. Volunteer Training Section: Fourteen volunteer companies participated in training throughout the month of o October for a total number of 61 volunteer fire fighters. Tom Brandt reported the following: Volunteers have a monthly training program Î last monthÓs training was an o informative video provided by the National Fire Academy outlining the whole realm of what volunteer and career fire fighters provide to the public. Offered to incorporate the video into one of their quarterly meetings. o November training was tying knots and ladder drills. o Next meeting is January 21, 2012, 10:00 a.m. at Station 9. o Chairman Taniguchi encouraged the commissioners to attend the volunteer company quarterly meetings if available. Commissioner Robinson asked if it is an on-going thing for the Ironman to give the Department a truck. Chief Rosario replied that donations from the Ironman have gone down. The Department does provide standby of their rescue boats and rescue personnel. In years past, the Department used to get reimbursed for their services but with a change in the IronmanÓs leadership, they did not provide reimbursement this year. Prevention Bureau: Conducted 115 inspections. o HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 8 Canine dog, Kaimi, was used in three structure fires, two of which are still under o investigation. Auxiliary Services: Communications Center Î in the process of replacing all old dispatch o communications equipment including the phone system. The current phone system, Northstar Telephone System, is very outdated and Hawaiian Tel is targeted with replacing the phone system which is also tied in with Police. Maintenance Shop : Seventy-seven repairs done last month. o Nineteen trouble calls Î these are calls that are either after hours or beyond o normal work hours. Chief mechanic participated in the pre-construction teleconference for two new o medics for the KeaÒau and Captain Cook Stations. The vendor for those medics is Braun Northwest and should arrive sometime in 2012. Received a United States Department of Agricultural Model 62 fire truck through o the Department of Forestry and Wildlife and currently in the process of completing the registration. Chairman Taniguchi asked if the two incident resource trailers that were received back in August were on line. Chief Rosario replied they are not on line yet. The personnel at the Waimea Station have been helping with the internal fabrication of some tables and shelving to put the equipment on; will check with Captain Honda who is the project person for a timeline. The incident trailers are trailers that have equipment to assist with the incident command at a location; it has computer, a printer and a desk for the incident commander to work on necessary forms that need to go to outside agencies and provides a place to hold command meetings and a general location to be identified as a command post. Chief Rosario provided the Commission with his 100 Day Plan. He indicated that while working on the plan, he noticed that it would be something that would never be completed as things come and go and it is something that would g days. The 100 Day Plan includes dates certain things were started, the priority levels and the completion rate for it. Chief Rosario welcomed any input from the Commissioners on his 100 day plan. Commissioner Moku asked if the 100 day plan is a roll over program. Chief Rosario replied it is a useful tool because he wants to ensure he is on task with his projects. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 9 Chairman Taniguchi stated the Commission asked Chief Rosario for a 100 day plan primarily from the perspective of wanting to be available to ensure the administrationÓs success and what was planned for the first 100 days because it is an important period as the new Fire Chief. New Projects : Chief Rosario stated he knows the Charter calls for the Fire Commission to meet on certain days but wanted to present to the Commission he is willing to discuss any changes in the meeting times that works best for the commissioners. He indicated the administration is open to meeting anytime as he realizes the commissioners provide a great service and are all volunteers who take time away from their businesses and families. Employee/Public Relations : Chief Rosario stated the Department continues to support the request for various activities in the community. The Department receives at least three or four requests a day for services of the Fire Department and for stand-bys. At 11:13 a.m., Chairman Taniguchi called for a recess. At 11:14 a.m., the Regular Session Meeting reconvened. At the recommendation of Corporation Counsel Ashida, the commission moved into Executive Session. At 11:16 a.m., Commissioner Robinson moved to go into Executive Session consider the discipline of an employee where consideration of matter affecting privacy will be involved and a closed session is requested, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commissionÓs powers, duti immunities, and liabilities. (Pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) and (a) (4) and HawaiÒi County Charter Section 13-20(b)). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Henkel and carried unani vote. At 11:50 a.m., the Regular Session Meeting reconvened. NEW BUSINESS Complaint for Consideration and Investigation from Michael Dubberstein dated August 10, 2011. Chairman Taniguchi stated the Complaint is alleged against Battalion Chief (BC) Lum. (Chairman Taniguchi called up BC Lum). HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 10 Chairman Taniguchi thanked BC Lum for coming. He informed BC Lum the alleged Complaint was brought forth by Michael Dubberstein and that the Commission is in receipt of a written request for a continuance from Mr. Dubberstein. He stated the Commission wants to afford BC Lum the opportunity to rebut any claims made by the complainant Chairman Taniguchi asked BC Lum if he would like to present in open or closed session. BC Lum replied in open session. Chairman Taniguchi asked BC Lum if he is in receipt of the actual Complaint. BC Lum replied he is in receipt of the Complaint. BC Lum asked the Commissioners if they are in receipt of his letter to Chief Oliveira. Chairman Taniguchi replied the Commission is in receipt of his Memorandum and read into the record a Memorandum to Fire Chief Darryl Oliveira, date st Battalion Chief Jerry Lum, B Platoon, 1 Battalion regarding Incident with HPD Officer Michael Dubberstein. BC Lum: I came today to clarify my written response to the allegations against me. Chairman Taniguchi asked to take the commission back to the bush fire incident in August. BC Lum: At the 55 mile marker. Chairman Taniguchi asked, Ðwhich is approximately by where?Ñ BC Lum: Between PunaluÒu and Phala. Chairman Taniguchi asked if the road was flat, curvy, up or down. BC Lum: Pretty much a flat road. I can draw a description if you guys want. It might be easier. [At this time, BC Lum: Utilizes Dry-Erase board to illustrate scene where alleged complaint took place]. BC Lum: So we had a brush fire, we had two officers, controlling traffic, so when I first talked to Officer Dubberstein, he was up here on the Phala side and maybe 100 yards from where he was, we had a staging area. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 11 Commissioner Namahoe asked to define staging area. BC Lum: The staging area is where we had our frog pond which is like a big inflatable pool that we fill up with water and a helicopter can take water out of it, it was also the area where the --- truck, water tanker, the 5,000 gallon water tanker was going to be parked so that our apparatus if they needed water to refill, they could go there instead of driving to PunaluÒu which is several miles away, so they can get water quicker. So, the first encounter with Officer Dubberstein, I came up to him and I asked him if he could move his roadblock or his position 100 yards up just past the staging area, that way when our trucks are going in and out, they can stop the traffic and, our personnel will have safe egress and entry to that area. At that time, Officer Dubberstein told me that theyÓre short-handed and, you know, thereÓs only three of them and I said I understand, you know, but IÓm asking, IÓm not asking him to put another person there, IÓm just asking him to r here and he says, you know, again he says, you know, weÓre short-handed, I canÓt deal with it or whatever so I didnÓt want to do anything, say anything or whatever. He told me why donÓt I go down to this officer here because thereÓs two of them here and ask them, so I drove my car to this officer here and at that point I asked the officer at here, I didnÓt get his name or anything, I just said, whoÓs the rank over here, I need to speak to the rank and this officer said thereÓs no rank, thereÓs only, I guess, only patrol officers on duty today or whatever, so I said, well whoÓs the senior guy and at that point the officer here pointed to Dubberstein and said heÓs the senior officer, so I said, well, I explained to him that I wanted him to move up and he didnÓt so can I ask one of you guys to go up there and block just past the staging area. So he said okay, you know, and from that point I went down to PunaluÒu where we had a previous brush fire to meet the dozer operator. I had to meet with the dozer operator to open some gates so that he could take his dozer from the PunaluÒu area up to this brush fire to cut a fire break around it. I had left the area maybe 10 minutes or 15 minutes approximately, when I came back all HPD officers was gone so the road was open, they were all gone and so I got on the radio and I asked our control where is HPD. At that point he told me they should be there with you, I said well they were here now theyÓre gone and shortly after that IÓm not too sure if maybe they had a call or something or whatever but shortly after that, Officer Dubberstein and the other officer came from the Phala direction, pulled up to me and he said so what do you want us to do, and I said, well I want you to block the road because we have our staging area, we have apparatus on the road and, you know, can you block it from here to where you guys was. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 12 He said okay, he got out so I went around and then I met up with came out around, I walked around the fire, showed the dozer oper what I wanted to be done and then when I came back down to the highway over here, road block wasnÓt there. Officer Dubberstein was on the side of the road in his car parked and I tapped on the glass, like he said, and so he rolled his window down and I said blocked and, you know, he says why do you need the road blocked, thereÓs nothing happening and at that point when he said that, basically on the shoulder of the road, there was a volunteer truck here and the rest of our trucks were not in the area, they were in the staging area getting water or they were at PunaluÒu because if more than one truck needed water, then the second truck will go to PunaluÒu. So at that point I said, you know, we still have a volunteer truck on the shoulder, he said well itÓs not on the road, I said, for the safety of the public, our personnel and everybody else, I want this lane closed because everybody knows that when thereÓs an accident or whatever everybody rubbernecks and they look towards that direct off into that lane, so I said I need that buffer even though they are parked on the side of the road, I still want that one lane closed so that way you guys can stop the traffic he and here and theyÓre proceeding at a slow rate instead of, you know, just from there, 55 just kind of going through and it could endanger one of our personnel or even themselves. So he proceeded to tell me that, you know, thereÓs nobody on the why we need the road closed and I tried to explain to him and you know heÓs told me well why donÓt you guys close the road and I said well itÓs your road, we put the request to you and I said, you know, then he continued on saying that, you know, weÓre short-handed and maybe they were, three officers for the KaÒ area maybe thatÓs short-handed, IÓm not too sure, I mean, even for us, weÓre short-handed and staffed so I said, well if you guys, if you couldnÓt man the roadblocks then you guys should call for state highways to come in and thatÓs their jurisdiction to call that. So he says, well why donÓt you call and I said thatÓs not our position, you know, itÓs your guys to make the call, if you canÓt provide the road block you c me well I guess you donÓt have the authority to close the road, you guys close the road, if it was an emergency and they werenÓt there, yeah, we can close the road as Fire but since they were there, thatÓs their job, let them do their job and you know, he proceeded saying you know thereÓs no, none of your vehicles is on the road, the volunteer truck is off the road over there, I said, I want the road closed, what he did is he brought out his smart phone and started videotaping saying see thereÓs no trucks on the road and thatÓs when I kind of, you know, in his words I used profanity and the tone and well mine is verbiage yeah, but in his, he said I swore at him or whatever else and it was more in a way so that, IÓm not here to debate with you, do your job, IÓm doing my job and letÓs just get it done. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 13 So yes, I raised my tone, I swore at him, I mean, you know, IÓm pretty sure he has it on his phone too, who knows, but it was my way to get my point across to him to say, you know, letÓs just get the job done and from that point I re-contacted our fire control and earlier I asked, earlier I asked our Fire control to try and get a rank person on the phone with me or whatever especially when they went missing when I came back the first time, but I think this next time when I came on the radio and called our dispatch and I think they heard the tone in my voice and everything they got a rank officer from HPD that called me right away and it was a captain, I think I have his name in here, Burian, yeah, so he called he asked what was going on, I explained to him he said heÓll take care of the problem right away. At that point I was back on the fire line and when I came back, came back to the highway area, Officer Dubberstein was relieved and from what I understand they brought in Sergeant Koi that was supposed to work at the later hour doing the day on his regular shift and they brought him in early to relieve whatever happened and after that everything was fine. I think I didnÓt, it was probably yeah, out of frustration or whatever but I mean I know all this is important for Fire and Police to have good working relationship and I donÓt think I abused it any other way in the past and like I said, yeah, used those tone and words with him but it was to get my point across and. Chairman Taniguchi clarified that BC Lum did say, Ðget your Òeffing ass on the road and direct traffic.Ñ BC Lum: Probably, I mean, I donÓt know if itÓs exact but I know I probably swore at him and he has his recording that he will show you guys. IÓm not denying that I swore at him or anything but I meanÈ Chairman Taniguchi asked how far it is from one road block to the end of the road block. BC Lum: I would say maybe, maybe half mile at the most. Chairman Taniguchi asked what direction the smoke is coming from. BC Lum: The wind was coming from makai going mauka. Chairman Taniguchi asked how many apparatus. BC Lum: At the time when the incident, well he says that I swore at him, yeah, only had this one volunteer company here but the two officers they were, I mean the road was open. Chairman Taniguchi noted just one lane was open. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 14 BC Lum: Yeah, so they had this, I guess the NÒlehu bound land closed and there was Chairman Taniguchi noted one-way traffic both ways. He asked BC Lum if it was a pretty intense time. BC Lum: No, at that time actually the fire was not under control but we had a handle on it. My safety was for the guysÓ thatÓs going to be coming out of the staging area, parking along this road. If we have the cars still traveling at the current speed limit which is 55, you know, somebodyÓs going to get hurt, so if they can control the traffic to one lane more than likely theyÓll slow the traffic down or come to a stop and then that way they can proceed on. Commissioner Henkel asked in an emergency incident like this is thereÓs a specific chain of command. BC Lum: Yes. Commissioner Henkel asked to briefly say what that is and asked if he was the incident commander. BC Lum: I was the incident commander. So thereÓs an in-district captain and then thereÓsÈ. Commissioner Henkel asked BC Lum if he was the incident commander even if it involved other agencies. BC Lum: Well itÓs if thereÓs more than one agency, then itÓs the unified command where Police will have their representative and so I guess at that point there was no seniorÈ Commissioner Henkel described it as BC Lum as the incident commander; the Police are there to assist. BC Lum: I mean, itÓs a Fire call. BC Lum: After talking to him, I went down to the PunaluÒu area to talk to the dozer guy and open some gates for him. Commissioner Namahoe asked what was the timeline between the first time to the Ðf--- ingÑ moment. BC Lum: I would say maybe little over an hour. I guess, I mean, I wasnÓt watching it on my watch but I would say by the time I went down there, I mean, cause PunaluÒu is a few miles away so by the time I got down there and talked to thedozer operator and everything else, come back, walk through, I mean get them set up again, do my walk around through the fire area and come back. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 15 Commissioner Namahoe stated the amount of resistance faced was over an hour. BC Lum: I would say over an hour. Commissioner Lee asked to clarity that from the beginning, the first interaction with Officer Dubberstein, it sounded like the officer was kind of abrasive. BC Lum: In my opinion, I mean, maybe in my opinion, maybe he didnÓt have a good day cause he was complaining about being understaffed and stuff. Commissioner Lee stated it sounded like Officer Dubberstein was abrasive from the beginning and it escalated as time went on. BC Lum: I think he said he coming next month or something. Chairman Taniguchi stated the commission, collaboratively, needs to decide if it will accept Officer DubbersteinÓs request for a continuance. Commissioner Lee made a motion to end it right now. Commissioner Namahoe seconded it. Commissioner Moku noted that while all this is going on, all BC Lum tried to do was take care of the fire. BC Lum: The public and my personnel. Commissioner Moku stated he thought BC LumÓs conduct was proper. BC Lum: And, I mean, like I said, when I come in Chief Oliveira, I told Chief Oliveira, you know, I apologized to him and I also, I said if you talking with the Police Chief or whatever cause it goes to the chain of command, you know, I apol Chief because, I mean, we want to make that working relationship good but I know when I guess Brilhante called me and said that I have a complaint, he also said that Officer Dubberstein would drop it if I apologized to him about saying whatevers, so I said I wonÓt I mean it justÈ Commissioner Lee stated itÓs interesting the officer is actually bringing out his camera like that because it causes a reaction and officers in Phoa actually arrested somebody for doing just that. Commissioner Robinson asked if this was the first time he met or ever dealt with this officer. BC Lum: This is the first time I ever came in contact with him. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 16 Commissioner Robinson was interested to know what kind of backgr Dubberstein has. BC Lum: I didnÓt want to create another position there; I just wanted him to move his vehicle. Chairman Taniguchi asked if there were any witnesses that may have been there. BC Lum: I think PhalaÓs engine was parked in this area and IÓm sure you heard me I mean, the acting FEO, I think, it was Ashley Kanahele. Commissioner Robinson asked if the visibility wasnÓt too bad. BC Lum: Visibility really wasnÓt a problem; it was just to create a buffer zone from the traffic and the personnel on the road because of the rate of speed of traffic. Commissioner Henkel appreciated BC LumÓs narrative, details and informative description of the incident. BC Lum: And just to add, after he, I told him that and I actually, Engine 11 probably be a witness cause I told him to go on the road and ---- Officer Dubberstein instead of creating that safe zone, what he did was he just followed the Engine like 50 feet behind the Engine as his road block so the traffic did build up behind Officer Dubberstein and as he sees it was clear, he would stay in his vehicle and just wave the vehicles on, so to me that wasnÓt the right way to do a road closure either. Commissioner Henkel noted that even if Officer Dubberstein had cause, the proper response would have been for him to do what BC Lum asked him to do and then file some sort of grievance later. BC Lum: Right. Commissioner Namahoe asked if Officer Dubberstein was parked in the shade, had a good view, or what were those reasons that he demonstrated resistance against moving from where he was located. BC Lum: To me itÓs just lazy, thatÓs my own opinion. He probably wasnÓt happy to be there that day for whatever reason and È Chairman Taniguchi stated the Commission still needs to decide on Officer DubbersteinÓs request for continuance. At 12:19 p.m., Commissioner Robinson moved to go into Executive Session to consider the discipline of an employee where consideration of matter affecting privacy will be involved and a closed session is requested, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 17 questions and issues pertaining to the commissionÓs powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities. (Pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a)(2) and (a)(4) and HawaiÒi County Charter Section 13-20(b)). The motion was seconded by Commission Henkel and carried unanimo vote. At 12:31 p.m., the Regular Session Meeting reconvened. Commissioner Lee withdrew his motion to decline Officer DubbersteinÓs request for continuance. Commissioner Namahoe withdrew her second. Chairman Taniguchi thanked BC Lum for coming forward and providing his testimony. Commissioner Lee moved to grant Officer DubbersteinÓs request for continuance. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Robinson and carried una voice vote. Commissioner Namahoe moved to table the hearing of Officer DubbersteinÓs Complaint to the December meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Robinson and carried una voice vote. Chairman Taniguchi took the agenda out of order and moved to Old Business, Committee Reports and Announcements. OLD BUSINESS None. COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget and Finance Î Chairman Taniguchi noted the budget and supplemental budget were submitted. Office Management and Staffing Î Commissioner Stabo absent; no r Rules and Policies Î no report. Public Relations Î no report. Training and Education Î no report. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes November 9, 2011 Page 18 ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 10:00 a.m., at the West HawaiÒi Civic Center, Community Meeting Hale Conference Room, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, HawaiÒi 96740 Set agenda for December 14, 2011 meeting. At 12:37 p.m., Commissioner Robinson moved to go into Executive Session to discuss the ChiefÓs salary, including any recommendations to be made to the HawaiÒi County Salary Commission. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Namahoe and carried unan voice vote. At 1:19 p.m., the Regular Session Meeting reconvened. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Moku moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Henkel and carried unanimously by voice vote. Meeting was adjourned at 1:19 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JENNIFER M. KUALII Secretary