good afternoon the meat of the whole show now come to order i'm don guzman the chair of the committee before we begin i would like to ask everyone to turn off their cell phones or put it in the silence mode i'm going to introduce our members today our vice chair lobby you'll be limited to today's agenda and your testimony will be up to three minutes allotted time if you are going to testify please state your name and or any organization in which you represent at this time i'm going to check in with our district offices hon office are you present pretty good afternoon miss alcott thank you district office i'm going to turn back to the the chambers is there anyone wishing to testify and twenty three kitty corner to ninety five one highway i guess you could say that i am in the heart of all the action in reading the content of the settlement it only talks about his misfortune how he was attacked by the county and other prominent people and neighbors who do business employee or including rentals it also talks about events that have happened that causes me to question the factual history of the claim the laws are written for a reason bottom line mr basson got caught by neighbors and business people that say no more as i shared in my letter to the council dated july twenty ninth two thousand and fourteen we have b n b which we didn't have we have vacation or s t r age which we didn't have we had mom and pop stores that we no longer have except for huge store untouched the chunky or handle so their whole ninety five one highway out of frustration and harassment and others in need of money the settlement talks about due process and the equal protection clause under the fourteenth amendment what about the people that mr baskin has attacked and the people who live on and in part what about our due process and equal protection under the fourteenth amendment his plea for mercy on his financial status for his livelihood is very unfortunate but he knowingly continue to operate illegally and he continue to dis the people of this town his service our due process and equal protection by you the council members who govern this county my heart hurts for our residents and for you who have to make the right decision for good afternoon council members but i appreciate the opportunity stand before you to speak before the proposed county settlement agreement with michael baskin my name is martin brass i'm a resident business owner and property  comments are made without the benefit of knowing any aspect of the proposed settlement you're about to consider however i believe it's important that as a legislative body from out to my we county and as the men and women who create the laws that we are meant to abide and live  that i need to express my concerns that a bad precedent may be at risk of being established over two years ago i and five of my neighbors francine iran on christian anti mcneil josh stone and peter when intimidations obstructions bullying and outstanding violations council member white believed he had cause the file on our behalf and for our concern of reprisal five separate requests for service these five thirty violations referenced in mr bascom's april twenty ninth two thousand and fourteen complaint for declan torrey injunctive relief that you see before you in the interim mr basons attorneys have employed a legal strategy for the last twelve months as effectively sequestered the planning department to communicate with the public i'm concerned that by the legally binding confidential nature inherent in the settlement proceeding the county has not had the benefit of input from any of the neighbors to separate fact from fiction i'm concerned that there may be terms of the settlement that are based on misinformation misrepresentation and or allegations that have not been corrected i have read mr basons complaint and there are certain statements within it that are patently false there's no indication of contrition the complaint clearly makes the argument that because other people may have disregarded the rules why should anyone be held accountable he claims being targeted by the county but doesn't acknowledge that the two dozen plus after the fact permits that have been issued to him for his benefit over the past twelve years he claims hardship for the loss of business income investment the situation he created by his own actions in willful disregard of the ordinances and laws of the rest of us must abide by his reps and if can benefits from ignoring the rules while others who struggle to comply with the much smaller requirements of foregone income incurred materially significant expense or have lost their businesses altogether please let us not lose sight of the fact that the county had cause to issue thirty violations furthermore the circuit court upheld the planning department's revocations this is not one person's animus against another such accusations are disrespectful to the hardworking dedicated and evil the county employees know this is one person's system for personal gain the system only became one fair and equitable when he was caught quoting fair and equal protection of the fourteenth amendment to claim disproportionate treatment is a perversion of the founding principles of this country is your best ca wrap it up and yes i have them at the end and attempt to deflect focus from the fact that mr bascomb stands without peer in the scale and scope of his violations or so actually ask each of you to consider the implications of so may have for these many violations our laws are being you mr bass for being here press you had do you have that in writing i tried to email it and it was getting i do i've been trying to email it but i can leave a copy or get my email to work ok and also you mentioned some things in the in the complaint that were not true can you when you submit that list those two  presence of chair michael white as well as mr victoria is there any other persons wishing to testify this chair the next test fires michael baskin good morning i'm michael baskin here on my own and on my company's i just want to make it brief and comment that we've worked really hard with the county in the last year to try to come up with an agreement that everybody was happy with we tried to address all of the neighbors concerned as well as mr brass and the others and i think after all that work we've come up with something that is difficult for us  to agree to but nonetheless we have i think that the county has done an incredible amount in coming onto our properties and giving us violations that we've been cured  i don't want to say too much about the neighbors i wish that they were happy as we are with our business i believe that imply we have created something very special if you look back over the last forty years i've been a resident of play and the town has been you know there's been issues with safety with how the old buildings looked we've done a tremendous job in repairing our our prop cities i think a lot of the properties that we own there were drug related problems and people living in them and concerns we've addressed that i'm pretty proud of the staff and the people that we have today you know we would love for the neighbors to be happy they have their own issues they have done work without permits they have after the fact permits mr brass has a number of them for his business right now in the case of miss rona she gives access to vacation rentals around us through her property so i don't believe that this is an issue for her in terms of the character of the neighborhood we're in downtown peja it is a commercial area miss our own as property is located sixty feet away from a gas station it is a busy area the area has changed we recognize that we have a tremendous amount of great reviews from people that are staying at our properties and we're very proud of that so i hope that you can just move forward with this with all the hard work that the county has done for this agreement we will live by it and if i will give you i will tell you that we will continue to make sure that our properties are in compliance and we will do everything on our part to work with the community and with the neighbors around us thank  you members do you have any questions at this time for the testify or just a cautionary note that please refrain from asking about the terms and conditions of the settlement at this point is confidential if and when if the council does approve this settlement then it would be executed upon the execution of the settlement it would be made known as a public document and be open for public review but at this time the terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential so if there is any questions to the testifier at this time mr couch did you have any questions seeing on thank you very much for your testimony thank you hello my name is nina rivers i'm the hotel manager at the pay and i've been there since we opened on june seventeenth two thousand and eight michael and sara hired me on from working at a previous local tax accountant and i had been looking for a full time job and was thrilled to be hired by the pay and as i was being interviewed amongst forty other candidates and there was little opportunity to have a study career on the north shore it was finally my opportunity to work just a mile from my house and save an hour a day from my computer commute and be closer to my family i've seen in the past seven years tremendous growth and a comedy guest here at the hotel i started with no reservations and seven years later we're very proud to have accommodated over twenty thousand guests and very proud of our rave reviews and press we've received the is a family business that has spoiled me from wanting to ever work at a major corporate hotel and i feel lucky that i'm able to help guests enjoy their limited time on maui i have worked here fifty hours a week and we have never received any complaints from any neighbor regarding any issues i've reached out to our neighbors in the past to notify them of work or noise that took place on property and had never received a call back message or communication guest repeatedly tell me how much they appreciate an alternate accommodation how they love and the family feel of the hotel we have six hundred views on trip advisor and for only being open seven years we are rated in the top three out of five hundred hotels on maui we're very proud of this and ha seen growth and business and encouragement with all the press not only on the stories of the hotel but the traction of the town which they'll include stories on the shops restaurants which we also give recommendations to travelers staying with us the pay is and has been a huge supporter of nonprofit and community organizations not only with monetary donations but room nights as well we have donated one hundred three two hundred fifty dollars gift certificates which would be valued at twenty five thousand dollars in addition to reunite donations we also donate a portion of proceeds to camp a mua hawaii wildlife fund and you think culture center based on our sales not only our community monetary donations but the remodeling of the hotel it county council my name is sarah sparks and i operate the pi in and vacation rentals with michael baskin i have lived and worked in for eleven years and i'm raising my family there i stand before you here today to urge you to agree to the settlement that we have spent years trying to reach with the county since the initial complaints by neighbors in two thousand and thirteen to the county inspecting our properties and countless many violations that were issued we have consistently demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with the county to bring all of our properties entirely into compliance unfortunately it has felt like every step of the way that the county has been completely against us and has tried to find every way to prevent us from obtaining proper permitting including the refusal to even process our submitted permits for well over a year this has been incredibly discouraging especially coming from an administration that boasts its support of small family owned businesses such as ours despite the county's harsh attitude towards us we still wish to cooperate and carry on with our business knowing that it enhances the community and economy of our small business brings visitors into where they shop and helping to sustain the other local businesses  f our properties are located in the perfect location for such activity as their centrally located in the bustling commercial area of pipe we have responsibly created a business that takes the community into consideration we have also purchased a parking lot just for our patrons use i ask that you stand in support of the arduous agreement that we have reached so that we can all move forward and stop wasting ours and the county's valuable resources think new members of council my name is michelle cocket i'm a permit facilitator and i've been doing this for about eleven years now once i left the county and michael had called me over in december two thousand and thirteen when he first obtained these  violations and to help him coordinate episode tate's the approvals of the various permits that were required and there were many that needed to be done between the assamese grading permits building permits and we worked very diligently to provide all the documents that were needed in order to obtain those approvals and i'm very happy to say that we have done our very best to accommodate all of their requirements down to the details and could surprise you at some of the details i were required to and we have accomplished a great deal by doing this we have met all of the criteria at this point to bring everything into compliance we have a few outstanding items that we're still trying to work towards and those are literally plans of actions there were many meetings there were many inspections there was a lot of communication that was going on and at this point having this settlement agreement  placed in and complete will accomplish more than you realize we will put end to this year and a half and ever maybe two years based on the some of the issues that prior to my coming on board to help him do this but at this point it's it's fair to say that this is a complete document it does contain all be elements and it is suitable for approval thank you wishing to testify you members returning to our agenda item the first item on our agenda is how one twelve the committee is in receipt of the following correspondence dated june second two thousand and fifteen from the department of corporation counsel requesting consideration of the proposed resolution to authorize settlement of the of county of maui versus michael baskin at all consolidated fields b v a two thousand and fourteen dash zero zero zero eight sea shore properties l l c at all versus rhonda i l lu s c p w dash fourteen dash zero zero zero zero seven seven three county i'm only vs sea shore properties  from the department of corporation council requesting consideration of a revised proposed resolution entitled authorizing settlement of the county of maui versus michael baskin at all consolidated appeals a to fourteen per and one and michael baskin at all versus county of maui civil number fourteen dash one zero zero one nine for ek at k s c the department also transmitted a copy of the first amended complaint in civil number fourteen dash zero zero one nine for l e k dash k s c and other related documents the purpose of the revised proposed resolution is to authorize settlement of the case with the cases as noted the committee may consider whether to recommend adoption of the revised proposed resolution with or without further revisions the committee may also consider other related matters and and or actions today we have on the floor deputy corporation counsel tom colby as well as the corporation counsel patrick won and i believe that i think he called be will be the one presenting the case at the procedural posture in open session generally speaking you heard testifiers on both sides and as an any litigated matter we have  itself should give you some indication on how extensive the work has been in getting to this point with the respect to the testifiers and the positions that they've taken what's before will be thoroughly vetted in executive session the terms and conditions of which will be discussed in detail in executive session but getting us there what you should understand is used all the tools that are available to us you know to get to this point and with that said all that the mystical be bringing up to speed on the various issues and contentions and then we will go into executive related to five properties that are very close to each other in downtown part yeah the five properties in question are on the makai side of the one highway between baldwin beach park and the intersection of baldwin avenue the the violations that were issued in november of two thousand and thirteen relate to to kind of two issues there were single violations issued on the parking lot located at seventy five hundred a highway and a single violation issued related to the pa in which is situated at ninety three when a highway a second set of violations are notices a violation were issued on three properties that were permitted at short term rental homes to mr baskin to his affiliates those are located at forty eight place ninety five b honda highway after issuance of these an over letters were also sent out to the owners of the properties revoking the permits to operate the short term rental homes on two of the properties and not renewing a third property and so based on on those actions by the department of planning and public works mr baskin and his affiliates filed appeals for all of the notices a violation those appeals were file to the board of variances in appeals and to the maui planning commission depending on the type of violation the nature of the violations included phil failing to get special management area determinations for minor structures construction at the properties without permit ing some set back issues and in any event all of those were set on appeal as a result of that the county of maui because it had revoked the short term rental permits filed an action in the second circuit court for injuncti relief to stop mr baskin from operating his short term rentals that matter went on for a hearing before a judge lou in april of two thousand and fourteen and the judge granted preliminary injunctive relief which would act as a cease and desist order for the operation of the of the three short term rental homes based on that mr baskin and the other owners sought relief two places they filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to the whole y supreme court asking for relief from the the injunction and they asked for similar relief from the united states district court which is the federal district in hawaii and they actually filed an amended complaint to that which i which is one of the documents that's been submitted to you for your review  that all happened in the month of april twenty fourth teen on may second the supreme court issued a stay of the circuit court's injunction against continued operation a hearing on all of the various appeals was set for june twenty sixth and all of the appeals were on the various properties were consolidated into one hearing  and retired judge john mcconnell was appointed to to preside over the whole matter in july the parties got together and decided to see whether or not they could engage in a confidential mediation to see if they could resolve reached the nature of those settlement agreements is the product of that confidential mediation i i request that the terms and conditions of any settlement terms and conditions be discussed with i see the the director for planning is here as well as you want to can you join us on the floor you have any opening statements for the our members and open session please identify yourself good afternoon mr chairman committee members i don't really have anything to say it's like oh my name is will spend time with the director of planning pardon me  i'm more i mean i was involved with all the mediation first hand what judge mcconnell in the different parties i don't really have any opening statements for this is very long process i'm happy to answer any questions regarding the terms in executive session ok thank you members who have any questions for the administration or corporation coun open session mr couch thank you his chair and if this is getting too close to executive session i'm sure you'll let me know the mediation was between the county and mr baskin is that correct yes now the county acted not necessarily on the behalf of the neighbors but as a result of neighbor complaints is that right i prefer to discuss ok executive session mike i guess my question is are the neighbors involved in the mediation or are they left out there not ok thank you you and he other further questions seeing none there's been a request for it by corporation counsel to enter into executive session at this time the chair will entertain a motion to convene executive meeting pursuant to the section ninety two dash five a for the hawaii revised statutes to consult with legal counsel on questions and issues pertaining to powers duties immunities and liabilities of the county council and this committee i sa council requesting consideration of the following a proposed resolution entitled authorizing settlement of tree mean bertie vs county of maui disability compensation division case number five dash fourteen dash zero zero three two two the proposed resolution entitled authorizing settlement of jeems a q juror versus county of disability compensation division case number five dash fourteen dash zero zero three four five a proposed resolution entitled authorizing settlement of kathleen current versus county of disability compensation division case number five fourteen zero zero three three zero a proposed resolution entitled authorizing settlement of mark a king versus county of my disability compensation division case number five dash fourteen dash zero zero three four eight and a propose resolution in title authorizing settlement of of douglas miller versus county of maui disability compensation division case number five fourteen zero zero five two six the claims in each allege work related injuries sustained as a result of an air crash on the nightly molly hawaii on february twenty sixth two thousand and fourteen the purpose of each of the proposed resolution is to authorize settlement for each of the cases thank you chair also with us is   the proposed authorization that we are requesting thank you chair as you mentioned these five settlement the requests so we're currently seeking all relate to  aircraft carrier that crashed on in february of last year and five victims of that crash currently the company that own the airplane is about to start mediation with all of the individual claimants in this issue that is separate litigated matter from our from our concerns which  workers comp related however even though they are separate we are entitled to certain rights in that litigation that would that would have an effect on what happens in their workers comp claims so in advance of the mediation between now we air and the five victims we want to get some direction from from you as to how to go about handling those negotiations and we have specific recommendations on how to do so i would like to get more into that in executive session because the studio with very sensitive legal matters as well as personal medical history a motion to convene an executive meeting pursuant to section ninety two dash five a for the wire to consult with legal counsel on questions and legal issues pertaining to powers duties privileges immunities and liabilities of the to take a recess so that we may enter into executive session by setting up the chamber thank you executive session meeting the chair will entertain a motion to recommend adoption of the revised proposed resolution entitled authorizing settlement of the county of maui versus michael baskin at all consolidated appeals b v eight two two thousand and fourteen dash zero zero zero eight sea shore properties l l c at all versus rhonda i l lu s c p w dash fourteen dash zero zero zero zero seven seven three county of ma vs sea shore properties l l c at all civil number fourteen one zero zero six four prend one and michael baskin it versus county of civil number fourteen dash one zero zero one nine four l e correction c o w one thousand without objection i would prefer this matter to july sixteenth to jack no objections thank you members i would like to thank all of you for today's meeting it was long but i think we had