Two of the most problematic county boards and commissions — the Board of Ethics and the Transportation Commission — finally are on the way to being filled following months of missed meetings because of a lack of a quorum.
“Where we see pukas, that’s where we’ve been trying to nominate people,” said county Managing Director Wally Lau on Tuesday. “I never realized how hard it is to get people for these boards.”
Currently, there are nine vacancies on the county’s 20 boards and commissions, county staff said late Monday, disputing the count of 35 vacancies in 154 positions listed on the county’s boards and commissions website. The website hasn’t been recently updated, staff said.
“This administration has empanelled 439 people to boards and commissions since taking office,” noted T. Ilihia Gionson, a spokesman for Mayor Billy Kenoi.
The Ethics Board has been most in the news because it has on its agenda a complaint against Kenoi for his misuse of his county purchasing card, known as a pCard. The board last met in August but, short two of its five-member complement, has been having trouble fielding a quorum — the three votes needed to meet and pass opinions.
Lau said two nominees are expected to come before the County Council in January for confirmation.
Ethics Board Chairwoman Ku Kahakalau previously said she’s been working with Lau to bring more members on board and is looking forward to working with a full complement. It’s been frustrating, she said, trying to schedule meetings.
“It was never intended for a board like that to have three members,” Kahakalau said earlier this month. “It’s not good for us and it’s not good for the people who come in front of us.”
But the Transportation Commission also has had its share of delays and missed meetings. In fact, the commission, charged with issuing certificates to taxis and other vehicles not governed by the state Public Utilities Commission and serving as the advisory board for mass transit, has not met since February.
The commission has had so much trouble fielding a quorum that the county Corporation Counsel gave the Mass Transit Agency administrator authority to issue temporary permits until the commission can meet to affirm them. So far, Mass Transit has issued 11 permits and denied none, said Commissioner Neal Herbert.
“It’s really a useless entity,” Herbert said of the commission. “There hasn’t been a single negative vote in four years. You have to ask, what is the point of this commission?”
Decisions about fares and rates are not made by the commission, yet the county code says rates also are part of the panel’s responsibility, he added.
Commissioner Ken Obenski had a similar view, saying the “rubber stamp” commission should be evaluated and possibly discontinued. His Nov. 28 email to Council Chairman Dru Kanuha to that effect has not been answered, he said Tuesday.
“I volunteered for this board,” Obenski said. “I want to do something.”
Kanuha envisions the commission taking on a greater role in advising the transit administrator as the county moves toward a mass transit master plan that could add more routes and more buses to the system.
“I think there’s a good amount of things they can do,” Kanuha said. “If we’re going to be moving toward more buses and more routes to serve the public, their role will be more crucial.”
Puna Councilman Dan Paleka, chairman of the Council’s Public Safety and Mass Transit Committee, said he doesn’t see a point in the Council addressing the issue of a restructuring or possible elimination of the commission. He said he hopes to attend a commission meeting soon to see how it’s functioning.
The County Council earlier this month confirmed two appointees to the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission and one nominee to the Environmental Management Commission.
The voluntary, unpaid positions can take a lot of time. The county reimburses for travel and usually provides lunch for board members.
Some seats on some boards and commissions have to be filled by people in specific districts or in specific occupations or with certain party affiliations. The charter allows people to serve on only one county board at a time.
Any person who wants to serve on a board or commission can pick up an application at the mayors offices in Hilo or Kona, or at www.hawaiicounty.gov/boards-and-commissions.
The county is looking for people who are active in and respected by the community, community-minded and -oriented, knowledgeable about and able to represent the entire community’s interests and concerns and able to focus on Hawaii County as a whole without undue influence by special or self-interests, according to the website.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
