The Hawaii County Council plans to continue keeping council chambers closed to the public until at least April, despite Mayor Mitch Roth lifting all crowd restrictions for the county, and state legislative leaders announcing the state Capitol will be open to the public starting Monday.
Those facilities have been closed to the public for two years, which means the freshmen council members, elected in 2020, haven’t yet experienced conducting their debates and votes before an in-person public audience, noted County Clerk Jon Henricks.
The Legislature announced the Capitol would reopen to the public starting Monday. Visitors will have to show a photo ID and proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours to gain entrance.
Henricks said he’s been in consultation with council leadership and the decision was made to keep the chambers closed for the duration of Gov. David Ige’s most recent emergency proclamation, set to expire March 25.
The proclamation, Henricks said, “always allowed for discretion.”
“We’re still applying that discretion,” he said.
Still, with both indoor and outdoor public and private facilities open to crowds without limits, some have questioned why the county’s legislative branch isn’t following suit more quickly.
For example, the Department of Environmental Management announced an in-person community meeting March 16 at the Phala Community Center about wastewater plans for that community.
Henricks said only a few people have asked or complained about the lack of access.
Big Island Press Club President John Burnett said some club members have also questioned the need to keep the chambers closed.
“The county has lifted restrictions on indoor gathering sizes, a significant step in a return to normalcy for most businesses and events,” Burnett said. “Under these circumstances, the continued restrictions on public participation in the process of government, one of the most cherished tenets of a democracy, simply make no sense.”
The county has, however, been diligent in setting up Zoom meetings so the public can view proceedings and testify remotely. There has been no physical location for council testimony, however, after Ige’s proclamation suspended a requirement instituted by the Legislature last year.
Burnett said press club members are “baffled” that the county hasn’t provided a physical site for testimony from members or the public who don’t have computer access or internet signal.
Henricks said the ability to testify remotely has been very successful for the public, and the council plans to continue that practice, even when the council chambers reopen.
“It’s working for people,” Henricks said.”It provides another community access site.”