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NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION
REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009
CALL TO ORDER: Commission Chair Grant Tanimoto called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.
Members Present: Brendan Bailey, Bob Finley, Ron Mobley, Jeanette Nekota, Grant Tanimoto, Sylvia Young (arrived at 7:20 p.m.)
Members Absent: Sheila Apisa, Ed Gall, Wilson Ho.
Guests/Staff: Greg Knudsen (Chair, Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board No. 1); Tom Heinrich (Chair, Manoa Neighborhood Board No. 7); Ron Lockwood (Chair, McCully Neighborhood Board No. 8), John Gollner (Member, McCully Neighborhood Board No. 8); Bert Narita (Chair, Diamond Head Neighborhood Board No. 5); Tom Smyth, Lynne Matusow (Members, Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13); Dennis Egge (Member, Aliamanu Neighborhood Board No. 18); Jon Chinen, Debbi Glanstein, Linda Ure (Members, Kailua Neighborhood Board No. 31); Sophan Seng (University of Hawaii at Manoa student); J. Tanouye; Elizabeth Contrades (Deputy, Corporation Counsel); Joan Manke (Executive Secretary), Bryan Mick (Executive Assistant), Linnie Pascual (Neighborhood Commission Office).
ROLL CALL OF COMMISSIONERS: A roll call of Commissioners was administered with a quorum of five (5) members present (Bailey, Finley, Mobley, Nekota and Tanimoto).
MONTHLY REPORTS:
Executive Secretary’s Report – Joan Manke reported the following:
Neighborhood Commission Office (NCO) Staff – There is one vacancy. Interviews will be conducted in the coming week to fill the Neighborhood Assistant position vacated by
Update on the Certification of Election Results – Two seats were left vacant by the passing of Tom Pico and Philip Ellsworth. Pico’s seat has been filled by the next highest vote getter, Utey Uch. An ad has been published in the MidWeek listing all the Neighborhood Board Members for the 2009–2011 Term. In conclusion, there were 445 official seats; 381 elected; with 64 vacancies remaining.
Introduction of Summer Intern – Sophan Seng joined the NCO on June 15th. Seng is from
Neighborhood Board Installation Ceremony – The ceremony was held on June 20th with 136 board members in attendance. There are now 225 members certified in Sunshine Law and 168 members sworn in. Notices will be sent out regarding the next training date.
Chair’s Report – Tanimoto shared that this would be his last Commission meeting and that he will not be serving another term. Tanimoto thanked everyone for their support.
Young arrived at 7:20 p.m.; six (6) members present.
PUBLIC CONCERNS:
Improper Formation of the Cost Savings Permitted Interaction Group (PIGroup) – It was noted that the Budget Committee, which is made up of three commissioners, formed a PIGroup consisting of the same three members. The PIGroup should consist of one less than quorum of the appointed body for a total of one member. Therefore, the formation of the PIGroup was improper.
Installation Ceremony – The Neighborhood Commission Office was commended for a successful installation ceremony, which ran smoothly with good discussions.
Agenda Template – A question was raised about the initial convening agenda template which was reported by the Executive Secretary as adopted by the Neighborhood Commission. Recollection is that there was discussion on a draft offered by Commissioner Finley and that no further action was taken. The initial convening agenda included election of officers, filling of vacancies, determination of meeting day, time and place, etc. Regarding the filling of vacancies, it was noted that there are two sections of the Neighborhood Plan that allows for filling of vacancies before any election of officers, which would allow new members to participate in the election of officers.
Executive Session Meeting Minutes – Interest in Executive Session minutes relating to the 2008 Neighborhood Plan was expressed, noting that the shield of confidentiality has expired. It was pointed out that at the orientation session for new board members it was stated that Executive Session minutes are not all secret. Once the reason for having the Executive Session is over and the item concluded, the minutes must be released. Concern was expressed that in reviewing past minutes since 2007, the Commission did not properly convene Executive Sessions as it must be an agenda item and requires a vote with votes recorded in the minutes. A suggestion was made that any recordings of Executive Sessions be kept and reviewed by the Office of Information Practices to determine whether the Commission discussed only those topics for which the Executive Session was convened.
Chairs Pro-tem – Concern was expressed about records maintained by the Neighborhood Commission Office regarding chairs pro tem; specifically, for the Manoa Neighborhood Board. It was noted that the chair pro tem should be Milton Ragsdale and not Tom Heinrich.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Regular Meeting – April 20, 2009: As there were no objections, the April 20, 2009 regular meeting minutes were APPROVED as corrected with the following changes:
· Page 5, under 5A, Commission Business, Complaint # 0410-30-18, 2nd sentence, insert “stating” instead of “sating”;
· Page 1, under Guests – Linda Matusow should read Lynne; and
· Page 2, “resignation” should read “resign”
Special Meeting – May 4, 2009: Deferred.
Executive Session Meeting – April 20, 2009: Deferred.
COMMISSION BUSINESS:
Filling of vacant seat(s) on the Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board No. 16 to achieve quorum of five (5) board members; board has nine (9) at-large seats with only four seats filled for the new term to begin in July 2009. [Reference from Neighborhood Plan: §2-14-104(e) If one or more vacancies on a board or the failure of a board to achieve quorum in successive meetings interferes with the ability of a board to conduct its business, the commission may take action to fill any vacancy.]
Questions were raised about the timeline for filling vacancies on the Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board and the required number of successive meetings that must be met before taking this matter to the Commission for action.
It was noted that this particular board had similar problems in the past where one or two members failed to show up.
Mick stated that Devin Donahue, who is a current board member, turned in a late application for the election; therefore, he was not a candidate. Donahue has since sent an email dated June 19, 2009 to the NCO expressing interest in becoming a member on the Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board No. 16 if there are vacancies.
Mobley moved, and Young seconded, to appoint Devin Donahue to the
Adoption of Neighborhood Commission Evaluation of the Audit and Task Force Report Recommendations – Mobley moved that the Neighborhood Commission approve the draft document titled, “Neighborhood Commission Evaluation of the of the Audit and Task Force Report Recommendations”, that was reported out of the Audit Matrix PIGroup at the Neighborhood Commissions May 18, 2009 meeting provided that the final document dated May 26, 2009 be proofread for any necessary corrections prior to publication. The final document titled “Neighborhood Commission Evaluation of the Audit and Task Force Report Recommendations” shall be posted on the Neighborhood Commission Office website and copies be transmitted to the Mayor, Managing Director, Corporation Counsel, City Auditor, Chairs & Vice-Chairs of the Neighborhood Board system, and each member of the Honolulu City Council. He noted that since the Audit and Task Force Report was not approved at the May 26, 2009 meeting, the date should read June 22, 2009. Questions were raised as to whether these recommendations are for "acceptance" or for "approval" and whether input will be allowed. By consensus, this agenda item was deferred.
REPORTS:
Budget Committee – Budget Committee Meeting Minutes of April 29, 2009 and June 10, 2009 were attached. It was reported that the Budget Committee disbanded its PIGroup as the work has been completed and a report has been submitted to the Budget Committee, which will be forwarded to the Commission.
A comment made earlier in the meeting was reiterated that the formation of the PIGroup was improper as it was made up of three commissioners who also sat on the Budget Committee. Therefore, the PIGroup report is invalid.
In light of this violation, Young stated that the Budget Committee will meet to correct this matter.
Cost Savings Permitted Interaction Group Report – It was noted that this report is invalid due to the improper formation of the PIGroup.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Next Regular Meeting – The Commission will meet on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Kapolei Hale, First Floor Conference Room A.
Special Combined Meeting of the Manoa & McCully/Moiliili Neighborhood Boards – The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Central Union Church Parish Hall regarding a planning matter for
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
Submitted by:
Linnie Pascual
Neighborhood Assistant