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Committee convenes in executive session on hazard pay, property repossessions and multiple legal claims
Summary
The committee moved into a closed executive session under HRS to consult with counsel on temporary hazard pay for HGEA, civil actions to take possession of city-owned properties, foreclosures to collect civil fines, and several pending lawsuits after public testimony on a hazard pay settlement and a parks property.
The Committee on International Legal Affairs recessed into executive session to consult with its attorneys about several items on the agenda, including a temporary hazard pay settlement for Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA), civil actions to take possession of city-owned properties, authorization to initiate foreclosure actions to collect civil fines, and multiple pending legal claims against the City and County of Honolulu.
Before the committee entered closed session, two in-person witnesses spoke in support of temporary hazard pay for HGEA. Andrew Fukuda of the Firefighters Association said the COVID-19 pandemic created difficult conditions for essential workers and expressed support for a temporary hazard pay settlement. Michael Hadlock, a HFFA executive board member, also voiced strong support and thanked the city for reaching settlement terms with HGEA.
The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) provided public comment on agenda item 6, a proposed civil action to take possession of 3808 Pocky Avenue. DPR representative Ted Hayden summarized the property's history, saying the city acquired the parcel in October 1991 for park purposes with conditions permitting two residents to remain until their deaths. Hayden said the property is part of the Kapiolani Trust, is legally required to be used for recreational and noncommercial purposes, is in serious disrepair, and that DPR wants the parcel to expand a nearby community garden that currently has a wait list of 28 people and a wait time of up to three years.
The chair then announced a recess and said the committee would convene a closed meeting pursuant to HRS section 92-4 and HRS section 92-5(a)(4) to consult with counsel on the listed items. The public transcript lists the council members and multiple attorneys and staff who would participate in executive session; no final outcomes of those executive-session deliberations were reported in the public record.
