Waimea kick-starts marathon week for council candidates

WAIMEA — The nine candidates running for one of the seven seats at the Kaua‘i County Council went through a battery of quick-fire questions Monday evening at the Historic Waimea Theater. The forum attended by approximately 60 people and hosted by the West Kaua‘i Business Association was the first of four events scheduled in four days this week.

Jay Robertson, from Ho‘ike community TV, moderated the forum, allowing candidates one minute to answer each question. The forum’s snappy format was able to accommodate a dozen questions, plus a two-minute opening statement and a two-minute closing remark for each candidate.

The forum also let the public write all the questions asked by Robertson to the council candidates.

Robertson provided for some unintended humor by forgetting to include one of the candidates in several rounds of questions, and being quickly reminded each time. It happened so often that in one occasion he was sure he had skipped someone — when he had actually gone through all candidates.

GMO

Council Vice Chair JoAnn Yukimura said she supports labeling products that contain Genetically Modified Organisms. She called for neutral research and controlled use of pesticides and herbicides. She also said the state should not give priority to GMO companies to lease state lands.

Councilman Mel Rapozo said GMO is responsible for saving many countries from starvation. The GMO companies have provided economic stimulation, and no studies have convinced him whether such products are unsafe, he said.

Candidate Ross Kagawa said the GMO industry created a lot of jobs when the sugar industry went down. But he also said more research is needed, and when it comes to making a decision, the people’s safety comes before providing jobs.

Councilman Dickie Chang suggested a forum with experts from both sides of the issue.

Candidate Gary Hooser said he supports labeling GMOs, an issue raised in every community. You can argue about GMOs, he said, but you can’t argue about pesticides going into the soil and water.

Councilman KipuKai Kuali‘i said it’s the government’s job to protect the people, who have a right to know what is in their food.

Council Chair Jay Furfaro said he is looking for some state leadership on the issue. He said he voted “no” on genetically modifying kalo, because it’s an important part of Polynesian culture.

Councilwoman Nadine Nakamura said the government needs to identify areas where GMO industry is impacting children.

Councilman Tim Bynum said it’s very clear GMOs should be labeled, but those are state and federal issues. The right to know is really important, he said.

Lawsuits against

the county

“I think we’ve got to start taking some of these cases to court, and not settling it,” Rapozo said.

If in fact the county has some “serious” risk management issues, it needs to be dealt with swiftly and severely, but the county keeps settling cases and having no accountability, he said.

“We are just like a bunch of pushovers, they come to us and we settle,” Rapozo said “I think we need to stand up, have our County Attorney’s Office stand up for the county and not for the plaintiffs.”

Kagawa said the council needs to change its way of doing things; if it just keeps paying out it will be like going to Las Vegas knowing you will win. However, he said he would have to look at each situation before making a decision.

“Suits are not settled by the county attorney, they are settled by the council,” said Bynum, adding that he has sat on many settlements, and there were instances when the council decided to go to court. “But in many of these instances the egregious behavior was indefensible.”

Bynum said he couldn’t remember one settlement in which there was a contested vote, as it takes a majority to settle a case. Some of these decisions were “gut-wrenching,” he said, but were the right thing to do because the manager’s behavior was “outrageously egregious.”

Yukimura said she agrees the council should go to court if it can defend against a suit.

“But if the actions are indefensible, we would spend far more money going to court,” she said. “It would irresponsible not to settle, it would be a violation of our fiduciary duty to the taxpayers to go to court on something we can’t defend.”

The problem of lawsuits is focused on a few managers, Yukimura said, and to the extent that the manager’s actions are indefensible, if the manager is an elected official, voters have to do a better job at electing those managers. To the extent that a manager is appointed, the county has to do a better job at appointing managers and training them, she said.

Kuali‘i said the issue is “disheartening” and totally “disgusting,” and part of the problem lays within everyone: Poor management and the county suing the county.

“It all kinda rests with the county attorney, if you ask me, the ‘shall’ versus ‘may,’” Kuali‘i said. “You have someone working in the County Attorney’s Office who is a candidate for prosecutor. You have the county attorney playing a role in recommending to the county what lawsuits get settled or not.”

He said the problem is that lawsuits are politically driven.

“It’s a violation of our fiduciary responsibility to settle lawsuits that we should not be settling: Fight it,” Kuali‘i said.

Nakamura said the number of lawsuits is troublesome and it’s a part of her job as a council member that she did not expect, especially in recent months.

“Managers need to know equal opportunity, civil rights violations,” Nakamura said. “We need to do a better job. If not, we are going to continue seeing this type of trend where the county is putting so much of our resources in settling these cases.”

Hooser said he agrees the county needs to be stronger and willing to take cases all the way to court, but he also thinks the number of lawsuits is troubling, and it really shows a problem within the county.

Furfaro said he believes there is room for the council to challenge the process.

“But I also think that we have to face up the fact that successful leadership from department heads and other personnel really depends on their capacity to build a collaborative relationship within the working community,” Furfaro said. “I’m very bothered that we are not able at this time to invest that kind of training in risk management.”

“Hopefully our newly created human resources will alleviate a lot of this mess,” Chang said.

Teen drug treatment center

Kuali‘i said a teen drug treatment center is long overdue, the tricky part is the location.

Bynum said it would be great to have a center here, but first we need to find out if it’s feasible and then do it correctly.

Yukimura said the center is needed, but the council has to know whether it’s feasible to maintain it as an around-the-clock facility.

Nakamura said the council needs to take a closer look on how to make it possible.

Hooser, Chang, Rapozo and Kagawa said they support the center. But Kagawa said he also supports keeping police at schools, and Rapozo said he doesn’t believe it will fix the problem, which goes beyond a “12-bed facility.”

Furfaro said the center is a leadership issue that started with an “inspired vision” from the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste.

Qualifications for

top positions

It is important that the county created a human resources department, Furfaro said.

Yukimura said it’s the administration’s job to hire qualified people.

The county needs to be responsible with spending, according to Kagawa.

Bynum said there are outstanding people in the administration, but we all know that past mayors, “good or bad,” have hired close people.

Rapozo said the county has to hire people with background, and it’s not happening.

“At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding,” said Hooser, who believes actual performance speaks louder than background.

Kuali‘i said the council has control over “political hiring” by voting against a position in the budget.

“Some people are right around the corner from being replaced,” Chang said.

Nakamura said the administration needs to adopt an anti-nepotism policy.

Future accomplishments

Nakamura wants feasibility studies for a digital media facility and for a Westside sports complex.

Kuali‘i wants to protect locally grown food, to work on a resolution to support local fishermen and on an inventory of beach access.

Bynum wants to work on lowering property taxes for local residents. He said he is concerned with the chopping of ag lands into gentlemen’s estates.

Rapozo wants to protect ag lands and to work on a bill that would void permits for Transient Vacation Rentals on ag lands once the property is sold.

Chang wants to replenish the sand at Po‘ipu Beach and fix Lydgate Pond, which has been murky due to recent work that blocked off water circulation.

Yukimura wants to boost bus services to every 15 minutes and improve maintenance at county parks.

Furfaro wants to establish a reserve fund, so the council knows exactly how much it has to fall back on.

Hooser wants to help restore faith and confidence in county government, and improve food and energy security.

Kagawa wants to freeze the county operational budget, improve county parks and promote more clarity on GMO issues.

Kekaha Host Community Benefits

Bynum said he hopes there will be a reasonable increase in the funds for the Kekaha Host Community Benefits.

Furfaro said this year the council voted to increase annual contribution to $145,000 from $80,000.

Nakamura said the council needs to work with the community to make sure the funds are delivered in a timely manner.

Kuali‘i said he thinks the money should be a lot higher.

Yukimura said the council needs to look into recycling as well.

Hooser said he doesn’t know what magic number is but he supports what is right for Kekaha. “We are hauling arsenic from Kilauea to Kekaha; there should be a price for that,” he said.

Kagawa said the administration extended the landfill’s life by increasing its height. The best the county engineer can do is making the landfill higher, he said. “You don’t need a degree for that.”

Chang said more money is going to be needed.

Rapozo said before the funds were first approved he had proposed $1 million per year to the community. He said he hopes there will be a huge increase

Kekaha Beach erosion

The Kekaha Beach erosion is a complex problem, and right now it’s kind of a “wait and see” what’s going to happen, Hooser said. The way the world is going, the government may have to move the highway.

Rapozo said there’s a good possibility the rock wall caused the beach to erode.

The council did put money in the budget to hire a hydrologist, according to Kuali‘i.

Furfaro said the money in the budget was for a study on geological issues in Hanapepe’s salt ponds and for a study on a possible removal of the jetty in Kekaha.

Kagawa said maybe the administration needs to pump some of the sand accreted at Major’s Bay.

Bynum said the council has funded ocean studies that are going on right now.

Nakamura said it might be a good idea to invite an expert to speak about the issue.

Yukimura cited a “huge accretion” at the Pacific Missile Range Facility.

Chang said the “bottom line is, the world is really changing.”

Low income housing

Kagawa said there are not enough affordable homes on Kaua‘i.

The administration needs to partner with the private sector to make it happen, Chang said.

Rapozo said the council should start considering setting money aside to buy land rather than buying land to expand parks, he said.

The future of affordable housing depends on the council and on the mayor, Yukimura said. But the council has failed somewhat by letting developers off the hook, she said.

Nakamura said she believes the council can do more by promoting collaboration between multiple sources.

It really boils down to public and private partnerships, Furfaro said.

Hooser said there are thousands of already-zoned lots on Kaua‘i, but the county needs to lay down infrastructure to allow development to go forward.

Kuali‘i said the administration should work with nonprofit developers.

Bynum said the housing ordinance needs to be enforced.

Waimea Sports Complex

Hooser said the Waimea Sports Complex is a win-win situation for the community. Furfaro, Kagawa, Rapozo and Kuali‘i said they support the complex.

Nakamura said the Westside needs an economic drive, which the complex would provide.

Bynum said he is not sure yet if he would support the complex, because the county is in the middle of an islandwide parks master plan, and more study needs to be done, but he hopes to support it.

Yukimura said sports is the heart of the Westside, and if the council wants good results, it needs good planning.

Economic

stability, jobs

The cost of energy has to be stabilized, Yukimura said. She suggested a strategic plan for the Westside to create jobs.

Kagawa said that if elected he will attend every business meeting on the Westside.

The state should be leasing ag lands to local farmers, according to Hooser.

Bynum said there needs to be economic diversity.

The last thing a company needs is excessive regulations from government, Rapozo said.

Kuali‘i said he supports real property tax incentives to businesses.

Furfaro said PMRF should not be taken for granted.

Nakamura said the county needs to make sure that the key economic drives in the Westside are functioning.

Rising electricity, water bills

“The goal is to get off of oil,” Furfaro said.

Kuali‘i said rising electricity prices drive up water bills.

Bynum said energy independence is one of the most important things on Kaua‘i.

Yukimura said we need to get off of oil.

The rising water bills are related to electricity costs, but also to the replacement of aging water lines, which if left unchecked will cost a lot more later, she said.

Nakamura said in that in the last two years the council lowered property taxes for renewable projects.

As individuals, Hooser said, we need to take more control of our energy use.

In the last few years there has been an increase in building permits for the photovoltaic projects, according to Chang.

Rapozo said the county Department of Water is working with long range plans that will cost more money.

Hydro-electric power plants work well in Las Vegas, according to Kagawa. “Maybe we can do it without harming the environment,” he said.

Diverse, sustainable ag

There needs to be good regulations to protect ag lands, said Yukimura, adding that education is key to promote sustainable ag.

Furfaro said the designation of Important Ag Lands on Kaua‘i is almost completed.

Kagawa said ag is though business, but Kaua‘i can be sustainable.

“We can use land for food, fuel and fiber,” Hooser said.

Rapozo said he will introduce legislation to take away permits for transient vacation rentals on ag lands when a property is sold.

Kuali‘i said there is an opinion that the it’s not legally possible to remove those permits because they “go with the land,” when they should “go with the owner.”

Chang said he is a “white-collar farmer,” growing stuff on his backyard. He said he would like to see a community garden on the Westside.

About 90 percent of cattle is shipped off-island for slaughter. Nakamura is pushing forward a cooperative to offer those services here.

Hooser said there are thousands of acres of prime ag lands controlled by the state. He said he believes if state legislators and the council can focus on it, they can get some of those lands at a low cost for local farmers.

• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.