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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN CHC 2009-09-11 PH-Kona2009-2010 HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSION Public Hearing Friday, September 11, 2009 Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa 78-128 Ehukai Street Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i 96740 CALL TO ORDER: C R. HAITSUKA: Let's call this meeting to order. Today is September 11, 2009, and the time right now is a proximately 6:10 p.m. We are at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa in Kailua Kona. This is the public meeting for the Hawai`i County Charter Commission. ATTENDANCE: Present: Absent: Also Present: Mr. Ed Haitsuka, Chair Mr. David Fuertes, Vice Chair Ms. Daphne Honma, Commissioner Ms. Casey Jarman, Commissioner Mr. Guy Kaulukukui, Commissioner Mr. Joseph Kealoha, Commissioner Ms. Susie Osborne, Commissioner Mr. Todd Shumway, Commissioner Mr. Scott Unger, Commissioner Ms. Jamae Kawauchi, Commissioner Mr. Alapaki Nahale-a, Commissioner Mr. Levi Hookano, Legal Specialist Ms. Karen Eoff, Secretary Ms. Glynis Yamada, Council Services Supervisor Ms. Jeanette Aiello, Committee Services Supervisor Mr. Alfred Robello, Special Assistant to Council Chairman Mr. Drake Okinishi, Council Aide to Council Chairman C R. HAITSUI: Do we have anyone here to testify today? First up, we have Shannon Rudolph. SHANNON RUDOLPH (At this time Shannon Rudolph came forward to address members of the C MS. RUDOLPH: I'm not really prepared. I think frog a C R. HAITSUKA.: Before we start, can you please state your name. er Commission. MS. RUDOLPH: Shannon Rudolph. I guess from what I've read so far, I like all of the amendments. I'm worried that there might be too many of them, because --an of course, there are a few I'd like to add too --I know people sometimes get confused, and blank out at the ballot booth when there are so many questions that they don't understand, but they are all important. I don't really have a lot to say at this point other than the amendments that I have read, they all sound pretty good to me, so that's about it. CHR. HAITSUKA: Are there any questions for Ms. Rudolph? Thank you very rr uch. Next, we have Margaret Wille. MARGARET WILLE (At this time Margaret Wille came forward to address members of the Charter Commission. MS. WILLE: I won't be quite as quickass she was, but I'll e a lot quicker than t:ls afternoon. I'm Margaret Wille, from Waimea. I'm an attorney, and I was on the South. Kohala Community Development Plan (CDP), and. I do a lot of community work. I wanted to just mention a little more ---I'm taking just one topic on emergency preparedness. I wanted to read a couple of things. One is from Obama's press release, of this week. Again, what I'm doing is encouraging that there actually be something in the Charter on the need for our County for resilience preparation, emergency preparedness. Yes, there may be other places where something could be put, like in a State statute or ordinance, but, it certainly is appropriate in the Charter. So, I just encourage you, to whatever extent you are comfortable, to say something on this issue, and to be aware that it is really an issue of the moment. It is one of the--I'r not sure of the right word but --hot topics, one of the really important topics nationally. A lot of other places, states and countries like England, are all way beyond where we are in terms of --whether it's San. Diego or England --really bringing these issues forward to be thought about. I'm just going to read a few sentences from the White House press release from. September 4, 2009 concerning National. Preparedness Month, September, 2009, by the President of the United States of America, a proclamation. "Preparedness is an. essential element of a resilient and secure Nation. My Administration has made preparedness a top priority...Our goalis to ensure a more resilient Nation, one in which individuals, communities, and our economy can adapt to changing conditions as well as withstand and rapidly recover from disruption due to emergencies." I include this on the back of my statement, and I just direct you to take a look at that. 2 Again, I see our island as anything like the pilot project par -excellence. When I was writing this, 1 started going and looking ---I tried to follow the wording and types of things that are being used nationally right now. From pandemic disease, illness, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, landslides --in fact our County and State consider landslides a really big one --food shortages for whatever reasons, drought, surge flooding, tsunami, wildfires, air pollution, the vog--they consider vog an ongoing disaster --widespread water and soil contamination, and any other widespread disaster risk, which could even be invasive species or whatever. Again, trying to look at things, not just horizontally, like the Federal government, the State and the County, but try to look at coordination with community organizations and how does one work ---I mean if all of a sudden, right now, there was an announcement --and this was in the newspaper today --this volcano went. We would have two hours. What do you all think about right now? You have two hours before they figure the lava hits this hotel, hits the sea. One response might be, I'm going to go get my kids, they're in school. Well, that's the wrong answer in terms of reading everything. You are then tying up all the traffic to go get the kids to go to where you are going. Like Hawai`i Preparatory Academy says, you don't get your kids. We won't let you in, do not come here. We will take care of your kids. Well, if you don't know that, if you haven't thought about that as a community, or on whatever level, and that little coordination, your fist instinct is, go get your kids. So, I'm just throwing these things out, and I realize there might be other places for this kind of statement, but regardless of whether money is coming from the State, or not, I encourage you --to whatever extent you're willing to do so --to put something in the Charter. 1 wanted to mention while during the break, 1 went and looked up grants. There are a whole slew that are about to come in for communities for 2010 dealing with resilience. Anyone, Big Island, applies. How can we miss with all the risks that we have. it all involves what is your risk assessment, and what are your assets. 1 just sort of looked at Waimea and what are our assets and what are our assets if this pandemic hits. They are worried that it's going to mutate and that it will be more severe, and they don't have the ventilators. Welt, Waimea has them for little Waimea, but what happens when everybody comes from Kona or someplace? One last thing on that is that there is a letter, dated September 10, 2009, from State Representative Robert Herkes to the new person, that I believe is going to be the Chairperson of the Ka`a Community Development Plan Steering Community. I didn't have time to copy this, but basically two of the key points that he is encouraging that Community Development Plan (CDP) to look at is, one, in terms of disaster preparedness --and he mentions that there was a bill proposed last year, but nothing really came of it --and encouraging them to be looking at this issue. One of the responsibilities would be to develop natural disaster impact zones on all islands. However, those measures were stalled in the State Senate and have not been able to agree with us. But anyways, encouraging them the importance of this and identifying and developing natural disaster plans, especially down there, and encouraging them to address that. He also gets into the issue of all of these developments that are quickly being moved through and getting approval, and being wary about those and looking at ---He states in his letter, "The recent announcement about the proposed development of 16,400 acres of land Ka'a, makai of the highway and adjoining Hawaiian Ocean View estates troubles me". The southern end of Hawai‘i Island has been impacted by almost every natural disaster and a direct hit a hurricane is inevitable. So, I'm encouraging you, in terms of the CDP process, at least recognition of some of these issues in terms of disaster preparedness, even if there are other ways that this could be addressed. Maybe an ordinance would be easier, but in terms of getting funding and bringing it to people's attention, you all are really at the forefront of this little canoe out here of ours in terms of ideas. Lastly, I just want to stress that transparency, and those issues, in whatever form you want to look at them. My feeling of the people that I've talked to around the County --and because I do this blog, 1 end up communicating with people from all over the island --is that there is a lot of distrust and fear that decisions are made behind the scenes, and not out in the open. I was reading --or I quoted from this book yesterday—flawai`i Politics and Government. There is specifically a section about the Big Island and that it has always been sort of run by the little hui's that have all the power and a sense that the people don't feel that they are welcome to participate. Just encouraging, how do we make people more informed, such as through getting things --whether it's live broadcast or on demand, which is even more important than live broadcast --where the County Council minutes --it shouldn't be that it's okay to file them at 11:00 p.m. in the Clerk's office and post them in a building that is then locked for several days, and the public ends up seeing the notice maybe the day before it comes up. So, encouraging doing this encourages trust 1 think that's really it. I'm just trying to encourage the issues that I brought up earlier. Thank you very much. CHR. HAITSUKA: Are there any questions for Ms. Wille? Thank you, Ms. Wi e. MS. RUDOLPH: Can I add something? CHR. HAITSUKA: Ms. Rudolph. MS. RUDOLPH: I just remembered one amendment that I did see there about changing the election back to four years. I don't think that's a good idea at all. I remember back when it was four years, and I think it was awful. I really like two years, and the people that 1 talk to really like two years also. I was just wondering, I don't realty know why, I haven't done enough research as to ---Where I came from 35 years ago, had an elected Charter Commission, and many counties in Washington State had an elected Corporation Counsel, and elected County Clerk. I don't really understand what would make someone choose one way over the other, I haven't done enough research on that, but that's just something wanted to throw out there. A lot of people over here in Kona are talking about those things. Thank you. CHR. HAITSUKA: Thank you very much. Do we have any one else here to testify? If not, we will be closing this public hearing, there are no further testifiers. Right now it is approximately 6:26 p.m. Thank you. 4 Respectfully Sub ed, Karen Eoff, Secretary Approved: Mr. Ed Haitsuka, Chair Hawai`i County Charter Commission