Council reconsiders smoking ban resolution, reaches unanimous vote

LIHU‘E — A request by members of the Kaua‘i County Council for all county parks’ patrons to “show aloha and respect” for non-smokers by refraining from smoking near other patrons is now unanimous. The council on Wednesday reconsidered a vote taken on Resolution 2012-51 two weeks ago, when a lone council member opposed to it.

After bouncing back and forth for a few months between the seven-member council and its five-member Parks and Recreation Committee, a bill proposing a smoking ban at county parks was defeated Aug. 8, and then morphed into a non-binding resolution, which the council approved on that same meeting by a 6-1 vote.

Council Vice Chair JoAnn Yukimura was the only council member voting against the resolution on Aug. 8 — Councilman Tim Bynum voted in silence, which was recorded as a “yes” vote — but she apparently had a change of heart the following day.

“After we voted on the resolution (Aug. 8) I realized I had been so focused on the merits of the ordinance versus the resolution that I had forgotten about the other values by which this council operates, such as lokahi, which is unity and aloha,” she said.

Still not believing the resolution would bring about the changes the council is looking for — especially with the urgency expressed by its clauses — Yukimura said it would do no harm. “It’s a non-binding request to the people of Kaua‘i, a place we can stand in unity on, so it’s my desire to change my vote to a ‘yes’ vote and I would appreciate a chance to do that,” she said.

Yukimura’s request, however, encountered opposition from at least two council members, Nadine Nakamura and Mel Rapozo, who voted against the reconsideration.

Nakamura said she wasn’t sure if the reconsideration request was appropriate, as it came from Yukimura and Councilman Dickie Chang, who voted ‘yes’ on Aug. 8, would apparently not change his vote.

Rapozo said he was hesitant in supporting the reconsideration because it would set a precedent, and he didn’t believe the reason for reconsideration met the rules stated in the Robert’s Rules of Orders, a manual of parliamentary procedure by which the council operates.

Furthermore, he said the council had spent a lot of time debating on the bill and on the resolution that succeeded it, and revisiting the resolution would put extra burden on council staff.

“I think it’s important that the public understands that our poor staff has got to type verbatim minutes, and when we reopen that box, it’s just more work for our staff,” Rapozo said. Yukimura said she wasn’t trying to open up the issue for further debate, rather, her desire was to make the vote unanimous.

Rapozo fired back, saying Yukimura had an opportunity to make the vote unanimous and chose not to. Yukimura, again saying the reconsideration was an effort to make the request a unanimous one, stated the reconsideration was not an effort to change her position.

“I appreciate all the lovey-lovey talk, the lokahi and stuff, but it’s practicing it 24/7 that does count,” Rapozo said. Council Chair Jay Furfaro said he agreed with Rapozo, and recognized his and Nakamura’s concerns, but the reconsideration was about kokua, or cooperation.

Chang said he followed through with asking for the reconsideration to help out a fellow council member in the spirit of aloha and kokua.

With only six members present on Wednesday’s meeting — Councilman KipuKai Kuali‘i was absent — the last vote belonged to Furfaro, who had the chance to decide the matter or push it for another meeting.

“I don’t want it to get into a tie, and drag this for another two weeks,” he said. “My vote is ‘aye,’ but I want to make sure I certainly take council member Nakamura’s and council member Rapozo’s commentary to heart.”

After the reconsideration was approved by a 4-2 vote — the council unanimously approved the resolution.

• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.