LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council on Tuesday interviewed a multitude of mayoral appointees to various boards and commissions. There were 21 names on the list in all. Among them, Roy Oyama (Board of Water Supply), Rowena Tachibana (Police Commission),
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council on Tuesday interviewed a multitude of mayoral appointees to various boards and commissions.
There were 21 names on the list in all. Among them, Roy Oyama (Board of Water Supply), Rowena Tachibana (Police Commission), Camilla Matsumoto (Planning Commission) and Gerald Matsunaga (Liquor Control Commission) are poised to earn repeat terms.
The remaining 17 appointees would be new to their respective boards and commissions; though Lawrence Chaffin Jr. of Po‘ipu, a nominee to the Cost Control Commission, served on the Planning Commission under a previous mayor.
The council will vote on whether to confirm the appointees today at the Historic County Building.
At the special council meeting, Chair Kaipo Asing allowed public testimony before going into the interview phase.
Alfred Laureta said appointees should have traits espoused in the Boy Scout Law: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
“Do your job as best as you can,” the former judge told the council, adding that their decisions on the appointees are as close as it gets to the council reflecting the will of the people.
Any of the 21 appointees who were not interviewed Tuesday will likely have their resolutions deferred until interviews can be rescheduled, County Clerk Peter Nakamura said.
Oyama, a lifelong advocate of island agriculture and farmers, said he sees a new county provision requiring farmers to have backflow preventers in order to ensure the safety of county drinking water sources as an expensive necessity.
Furfaro, who said he is “delighted” Oyama is willing to serve another term, added that he is concerned about a county Department of Water request to float a bond of up to $60 million to fund various critical drinking-water projects across the island.
If the bond funds are not spent in three years, the county will face severe financial penalties, Furfaro said.
Tachibana said her first two years on the Police Commission were a learning experience, and key skills are her knowledge of how to successfully hire and evaluate the police chief, something she did during her first term.
“Chief (Darryl) Perry is doing a wonderful job,” installing a new internal affairs division. Complaints to the commission about officers have been reduced, and her indications are morale has risen in the Kaua‘i Police Department, she said.
Councilman Tim Bynum asked Tachibana if her mental-health background is helpful on the commission, and she said she is encouraging the chief to get more training for KPD officers in dealing with subjects with mental-health and drug-abuse issues.
Matsumoto, with deep roots in both Makaweli and Kapa‘a, has a master’s degree in education and has taught at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and Kaua‘i Community College.
A strong desire to give back to the community drew her to commission work, Matsumoto said in response to a question from Councilwoman Lani Kawahara.
Asing said he was disappointed the commission did not return any recommendation on the council’s transient-vacation-rental bill (now law) that was sent to the commission for review.
“I wanted some decision either way,” he said.
Retired state Judge Gerald Matsunaga is a senior citizen and retiree, and offers free mediation services for those who cannot otherwise afford such services, he said. He is also a director of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association.
“I’m just trying to keep busy,” said Matsunaga, adding that he learned early in retirement that one has to do more than just golf every day. “And my game sucks.”
He had kind words for Liquor Control Commission department head Eric Honma, calling him dedicated, professional and one of the best department heads in the state.
“People really care here. This is the least I could do,” said Lisa Wilson, a real estate professional and nominee for the county Board of Review that hears real-property-tax appeals.
She said she is “actually excited to learn something new.”
Russell Kyono, who joked he is best known as brother of Steve (former Kaua‘i state highways chief engineer and county engineer) and father of Rachel (a young, upcoming golfer), has been in the real-estate business on Kaua‘i for nearly three decades. He is the other nominee to the Board of Review.
Warren Perry, a former deputy county attorney and now a private-practice defense attorney, said he can’t remember who the “genius” was who told him to quit grumbling about problems with various boards and commissions and start doing something about it.
He is a nominee for the Board of Ethics, and said he remembers when that body was non-controversial, and would like to see it that way again — not as a “rubber-stamp” board — but one with less controversy.
Furfaro asked Perry how familiar he is with civil-service laws, and Perry said he’s not that familiar, but knows where to look to get that kind of information.
Furfaro said with 51 frozen positions and the county possibly having to take a long look at employee furloughs, that seniority, transferability, union contracts and other issues will come to the fore, and grievances could be filed that may bring into question the mindset of a department head.
“I plan on doing my best,” said Perry, adding that the Board of Ethics could play a role in helping to determine whether a county employee acted improperly or illegally.
Carvalho’s appointees at a glance
These are the names on Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s most recent list of appointees to various county boards and commissions, along with when their terms would end if the council confirms them:
Board of Review (county tax appeals)
• Lisa Wilson, term ending 12/31/2012
• Russell Kyono, 12/31/2011 (replacing Richard Koenig Jr.)
Board of Water Supply
• Roy Asao Oyama, 12/31/2012
Building Board of Appeals
• Dennis Aquino, fire designation, 12/31/2011
• Gerald T. Nakasone, at-large, 12/31/2012
• Lawrence J. Dill, engineer designation, 12/31/2012
Board of Ethics
• Warren Perry, 12/31/2012
•Brad Nagano, 12/31/2012
Civil Service Commission
• Roy Morita, 12/31/2012
Cost Control Commission
• Lawrence Chaffin Jr., 12/31/2010 (replacing Nadine Nakamura)
• Dirk Apao, 12/31/2012
• Linda Fayé Collins, 12/31/2011 (replacing Lorna Nishimitsu)
Fire Commission
• The Rev. Jan Rudinoff, 12/31/2012
• Basilio Fuertes Jr., 12/31/2012
Liquor Control Commission
• Gerald Shigemi Matsunaga, 12/31/2012
Planning Commission
• Camilla Chieko Matsumoto, at-large, 12/31/2012
Police Commission
• Rowena Tachibana, 12/31/2012
• George Tiffany, 12/31/2012
Salary Commission
• Charles King, 12/31/2011 (replacing Tom Cooper)
• Sheri S. Kunioka-Volz, 12/31/2010 (replacing Dawn Murata)
• William Dahle, 12/31/2012
Source: Council meeting agenda
