Mayor Kenoi in do nothing mode on the PCDP...

[Rob Tucker]

Larry Brown, of the CoH Planning Department just posted this on a PCDP web site. It is a status update on the Mayor's (lack of) action regarding appointments to the Action Committee, the first step in implementation of the Puna Community Development Plan.

As Follows:


Aloha,

I've just confirmed that no communication from the Mayor to the Council with appointments to the PCDP AC was transmitted last Thursday. I also just found out that there are no more committee meetings by the Council scheduled for June. The next committee meetings won't be until July 7, with June 24th the deadline for submittal of items for the agenda. That would make July 22 the earliest possible confirmation date for PCDP AC appointments.

Mahalo,
Larry



Larry Brown, Planner
County of Hawaii, Planning Department
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone: (808) 961-8288, ext. 254
Fax: (808) 961-8742
email: lbrown@co.hawaii.hi.us

By way of background: The Mayor is expected to select nine names from thirty six applicants and submit them to the county council for approval. So far he has selected four and submitted those four to the council in an incomplete way so that at this time - six months after taking office - none have been officially nominated.

Progressive? Regressive?

Seems like a case of "hurry up and slow down" to me.

[Barbara]

What a pity. This is one opportunity to demonstrate collaboration with the PCDP community, that he seems to be unable to fill. Does anyone know the status of the other CDP plans in the county? Looks like an opportunity to connect with other parts of our island. Look at P. 4 of the HTH. The drums are beating in Peepeekeo with good reason.

[JerryCarr]

My typically cynical view is that some of the elements in the county (developers, Hilo-centric business interests, etc.) who opposed the CDP have also been supporters of the Mayor. Not wanting to offend his base (and campaign contributors,) the Mayor will be in no hurry to bring the CDP process to completion.

When it comes to Billy Kenoi my mantra is, "Together we can . . . maintain the dysfunctional status quo."

[Barbara]

Billy Kenoi is stuck! For some reason, he can't act. I think being Mayor is more difficult than Billy Kenoi expected. He didn't participate in the PCDP, or any of the CDP's, but while campaigning he gave the illusion that he would follow through. Meanwhile, we kept moving forward. All those meetings, all that conversation, all that "thinking" about and believing in constructive change.
Those of us who gathered together under the banner "Yes We Can", not only believe it, we expect it, and we expect to be part of the discussion and part of the solution. We are vocal, we are mobil, we connect with others in our various communities and we expect ACTION!

[Bob Orts]

You can always remind the Mayor that under Hawaii State law, all laws, charters and codes require that words will be interpreted by their common meaning, and where any question arises, it will be interpreted most favorably to the intent and implementation of the law.

Chapter 16 states that a Community Development Action Committee SHALL succeed the Steering Committee upon adoption of a Community Development Plan.
So, was the Puna Community Development Plan adopted?
If so, did a Community Development Action Committee succeed the Steering Committee?
If the PCDP was adopted (and it was) and a Action Committee did not succeed the Steering Committee, Is the Mayor in violation of the law?

I would question him as to legitimate justification for the delay since the law states a Action Committee SHALL succeed the Steering Committee upon adoption of a Community Development Plan, and that is not the case for PCDP. The law does not say he has to wait for the adoption to start picking candidates, so he should have been ahead of the ball, not chasing it down the street.

UPDATE
Well, don't this just take the cake!?!
The word "SHALL" where it appears in laws. ordinances, regulations, and codes in Hawaii mean it's an absolute must. Example Hawaii says you Shall have GFI outlets in bathrooms on new homes. That means you must have them otherwise you fail inspection. You can't tell the building inspector that you will install them when you get to it. You can't say the regular outlets are fine because you have more pressing flooring decisions to make. You can't say you'll install them after the window coverings are in so they all match a color scheme. Shall means you will install them or you won't get a passing inspection.

But it appears that not so long ago, Hawaii legislators decided that Shall really means "when we feel like it" and Shall's absolute meaning only applies to the people. The average person shall do things when we say shall but we as governing officials exempt ourselves from shall doing something when the law says we shall do it. So, they added a provision in HRS that "Shall" will not have any time constraints. So everyone must absolutely do what a Shall says they must do unless they are government, then it only means they have to do it if and when they get around to it.

[Rob Tucker]

Thanks Bob! That was a fun read!

I shall forward this to the Mayor.....

[james weatherford]

Thanks, Bob.

Here's a question from a citizen:
Specifically, what aspect of “diversity” was lacking in the initial applicants and is now being sought?

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park