Open Space Commission working to avoid ‘an embarassing situation’

LIHU‘E — The county commission tasked with identifying the island’s important natural and cultural resources and recommending ways to preserve access to them is finally now back to work after months of delays and departures.

The Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund Commission appointed its chair and vice chair in a meeting Thursday afternoon, and has until the end of 2009 to prepare a report for the Kaua‘i County Council and Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. with recommended property acquisitions, easements or other arrangements.

“Let’s not set up roadblocks for ourselves right now. Let’s see how far we can go,” said Jean Souza, who was elected as chair. She said the body is “on the cusp” of either moving forward or remaining stagnant, and that the task will not be easy but the commission needs to “pick up the pace.”

The commission got to work right away, receiving from Commissioner Johanna Ventura a report on the public input survey process, the first step in the body’s development of the annual list of priority projects.

Ventura said a location identified as “Secret Beach 3” was well-represented in the survey results and that the answer that the entire island should be protected was not uncommon. One respondent went so far as to fill out five surveys, with each one requesting that one of the island’s five ahupua‘a be preserved.

Ventura said that more detailed information would be made available once the survey results are processed and formatted. A preliminary list of potential priority projects could be forthcoming in coming weeks as the commission discusses its preparation of the proposal for the mayor and the council.

Thursday’s meeting got off to a rough start when none of the five commissioners in attendance seemed interested in leadership positions, with Souza, who has served as chair in the past, stating plainly, “I’m done in terms of taking leadership here. It’s been really frustrating the last few years and I find I’m more impatient than I was before.”

Veteran member Beryl Blaich said that sense frustration could be an asset in helping motivate the commission.

“To some extent, impatience is a great attribute because we do want to perform,” Blaich said. “We have a whole new beginning.”

In a brief recess before voting, Souza went across the meeting room at the Mo‘ikeha Building in Lihu‘e to speak with Tessie Kinnaman, who had turned down a nomination to be chair. Kinnaman, trying to avoid confrontation, jokingly hid beneath the table.

Souza reluctantly became chair, and Kinnaman was later elected vice chair.

Eugene Punzal refused requests to serve in either of the two leadership positions, saying that after a year and a half on the board, he is still unsure how things work and does not have the capability to lead, and would prefer to avoid putting himself in “an embarassing situation.”

The commission has been shorthanded in recent months. According to county officials, Randall Uyehara resigned on April 16, Vice Chair Caren Diamond on July 28 and former Chair Roger Caires on Aug. 29. All three cited scheduling conflicts.

Thursday was the commission’s first successful meeting in months. Scheduled meetings on Sept. 28, Sept. 10, Aug. 27, Aug. 13 and July 23 were all canceled, all but one of which with the explicit reason that a quorum was not available.

Five of nine potential members are required for a quorum, so even with the departures of Uyehara, Diamond and Caires, the body could have met if five of six remaining members were available.

Of the three vacancies, only one — Uyehara’s seat, which must be someone living in the Waimea-Kekaha area — is filled by Carvalho, Office of Boards and Commissions Administrator John Isobe said in a Friday e-mail. The other two at-large vacancies can be filled by the County Council and by the eight sitting members of the commission.

The commission will hold its next meeting on Oct. 22, and has scheduled four more meetings after that before the end of 2009.