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Burial Council vacancies cancel meeting
By Paul Curtis - The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — Help Wanted: Volunteers sought for thankless job, subject to harsh criticism, questioning of ethnicity and placement in countless no-win situations.
Even in these hard economic times, one can imagine there wouldn’t be a ton of applicants for positions like these.
Such is the case of the Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council, a state board formed to “address concerns relating to Native Hawaiian burial sites,” according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Web site.
The various island burial councils are administratively attached to the DLNR Historic Preservation Division.
The nine-member Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council is down to seven members after the terms of John Kruse and Presley Wann ended June 30. Kruse said last week that without himself and Wann on the board, they would not have enough members to conduct meetings.
The scheduled July 2 meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum, said Deborah Ward, DLNR spokesperson.
The July meeting was to include an agenda item, possibly the only item, on council action on a controversial burial treatment plan for Joseph Brescia’s oceanfront property in Ha‘ena, near the YMCA Camp Naue.
The council at its June meeting in Lihu‘e voted unanimously (6-0) to defer action on the plan.
Two applications for Kaua‘i vacancies have recently been received and must be reviewed by the State Boards and Commissions manager for qualifications, Ward said.
“We hope these appointments will be done within the month so the KNIBC can reconvene next month,” Ward said.
While SHPD staff tells the State Boards and Commissions staff when DLNR supports an applicant, the final decision to appoint comes from the governor, Ward said.
“SHPD has e-mailed OHA (state Office of Hawaiian Affairs) to continue to recruit so we can have a list of interested folks,” she said.
OHA will be running an ad in the Ka Wai Ola O OHA newspaper, too.
“We will issue a news release seeking interested parties statewide to go on a list. However, there presently are vacancies only on Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau and Moloka‘i,” she said.
Information about qualifications and the process to submit applications can be found on the SHPD Web site at hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/councils.htm, which is the site where the Hawai‘i Administrative Rules regarding the councils can be found, or by calling SHPD at 1-808-692-8015.
“A quorum is half plus one of ‘seated’ membership,” with a ratio of at least 2:1 in favor of public board members versus landowner/developer members also having to be seated, she said.
KNIBC fulfills the ratio criteria when two more members are seated, for a total of nine (nine is the council minimum, 15 the maximum), Ward said.
Therefore, when the minimum of nine KNIBC members are in place, five members are needed present in order to convene a meeting, she said.
The current members of the KNIBC include (their term-ending dates are in parenthesis): Chair Clisson Kunane Aipoalani (06/30/10); Vice Chair Keith Yap (06/30/12); Dee M. Crowell (06/30/10); Michael Loo (06/30/12); Sandra P. Quinsaat (06/30/12); Leiana P. Robinson (06/30/11); Barbara J. Say (06/30/11).
• Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com
Even in these hard economic times, one can imagine there wouldn’t be a ton of applicants for positions like these.
Such is the case of the Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council, a state board formed to “address concerns relating to Native Hawaiian burial sites,” according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Web site.
The various island burial councils are administratively attached to the DLNR Historic Preservation Division.
The nine-member Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council is down to seven members after the terms of John Kruse and Presley Wann ended June 30. Kruse said last week that without himself and Wann on the board, they would not have enough members to conduct meetings.
The scheduled July 2 meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum, said Deborah Ward, DLNR spokesperson.
The July meeting was to include an agenda item, possibly the only item, on council action on a controversial burial treatment plan for Joseph Brescia’s oceanfront property in Ha‘ena, near the YMCA Camp Naue.
The council at its June meeting in Lihu‘e voted unanimously (6-0) to defer action on the plan.
Two applications for Kaua‘i vacancies have recently been received and must be reviewed by the State Boards and Commissions manager for qualifications, Ward said.
“We hope these appointments will be done within the month so the KNIBC can reconvene next month,” Ward said.
While SHPD staff tells the State Boards and Commissions staff when DLNR supports an applicant, the final decision to appoint comes from the governor, Ward said.
“SHPD has e-mailed OHA (state Office of Hawaiian Affairs) to continue to recruit so we can have a list of interested folks,” she said.
OHA will be running an ad in the Ka Wai Ola O OHA newspaper, too.
“We will issue a news release seeking interested parties statewide to go on a list. However, there presently are vacancies only on Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau and Moloka‘i,” she said.
Information about qualifications and the process to submit applications can be found on the SHPD Web site at hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/councils.htm, which is the site where the Hawai‘i Administrative Rules regarding the councils can be found, or by calling SHPD at 1-808-692-8015.
“A quorum is half plus one of ‘seated’ membership,” with a ratio of at least 2:1 in favor of public board members versus landowner/developer members also having to be seated, she said.
KNIBC fulfills the ratio criteria when two more members are seated, for a total of nine (nine is the council minimum, 15 the maximum), Ward said.
Therefore, when the minimum of nine KNIBC members are in place, five members are needed present in order to convene a meeting, she said.
The current members of the KNIBC include (their term-ending dates are in parenthesis): Chair Clisson Kunane Aipoalani (06/30/10); Vice Chair Keith Yap (06/30/12); Dee M. Crowell (06/30/10); Michael Loo (06/30/12); Sandra P. Quinsaat (06/30/12); Leiana P. Robinson (06/30/11); Barbara J. Say (06/30/11).
• Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com
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kuekakou wrote on Jul 10, 2009 10:25 AM: