Courtesy photo This June 1 photo shows the structures erected near the Maunakea Road.
Courtesy photo This June 1 photo shows the structures erected off the Maunakea Road.
Archive photo of the Tribune-Herald The view on July 19, 2019, from Pu’u Huluhulu, at the intersection of the Daniel K. Inouye Highway and the maunakea path.
On Wednesday, the Ethics Council considered a citizen petition asking why Hawaii County does not enforce Maunakea’s laws, ranging from blocking the mountain access road last year to the structure of unauthorized structures near the protest site.
The ethics committee reflected on its own lines of conduct on the controversy and on Wednesday, at its first assembly since February, agreed to keep the citizen’s petition on hold while renting an outdoor lawyer to outline the board’s competency parameters. and authority.
Nathaniel, a veteran, said he had served the rule of law and still maintained that philosophy.
“We are in a position to protect our overall security and protect citizens from abuses of power,” he said. “If officials in our state and county have difficulty being independent in the functionality of their duties, then they have no right to be there.”
The creation of a solution for conducting an investigative hearing on “the reasons for the rule of law” is also pending.
The Board of Directors, meeting in Hilo’s boardroom with some committed members through WebEx, held a closed-door consultation for an hour while informed through the company’s attorney, Joe Kamelamela, of his legal rights and responsibilities. Kamelamela said after the assembly that she might not comment on what she had asked for because it was confidential under attorney-client privilege.
Ethics Committee Chairman Rick Roberts said the board would keep the data in deliberation until its September 9th meeting.
The access road to Maunakea blocked from July 16 to December. January 26, 2019, through protesters, who call themselves kia’i, or protectors, opposed to the structure of the 30-meter telescope in Maunakea. Teams have agreed to withdraw, at least temporarily, as negotiations continue.
But a tent the city continues to grow on approximately 50 acres along Saddle Road, also known as the Daniel K. Inouye Highway.
On Wednesday, Wong-Wilson denounced what he saw as a lack of public knowledge about the petition heard through the ethics committee. At their February meeting, dozens of others testified on both sides of Maunakea’s rule of law, but Wong-Wilson and Michael Last were the only witnesses on Wednesday.
“I don’t think your commission has provided enough public knowledge to give the public the opportunity to testify. Array… I think it’s obviously unethical,” Wong-Wilson said. “I don’t know why we, the public, want to be constantly alert to testify about those things.”
Board schedules are posted on the county’s online calendar and displayed on an outdoor bulletin board during county construction in Hilo.
Last testimony about how he was arrested and cited across the state for maintaining symptoms near Kailua-Kona Pier 20 years ago.
“Why wasn’t the same power point implemented for The Maunakea protesters?” he asked.
While Maunakea is under the state’s jurisdiction and applies through the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Gov. David Ige has delegated much of the duty to Mayor Harry Kim. In addition, the status quo of structures in a conservation district and whether building permits are required are within the jurisdiction of the county.
Wong-Wilson argues that the factor falls within the jurisdiction of the DLNR and the State Department of Hawaiian Land, the county.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer to [email protected].
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