Aloha Chair Batangan and Members of the Committee:
Before you approve Resolution 26-147, I ask you to pause.
This is not testimony against Kathleen Platt. She alleges that she was injured at Kulamalu Park, a County-owned and maintained public facility. According to her complaint, she was carrying her granddaughter down a stairway, reached for a handrail that was not there, fell, and suffered a fracture. She alleges there was no warning that the railing ended.
Those are allegations. They are not findings of fact.
Yet the resolution before you would authorize the settlement of this lawsuit under terms that will be discussed in executive session. It would then authorize the Mayor to execute the settlement and the Director of Finance to pay it.
Before taxpayers pay anything, there are questions this committee should answer.
Was a handrail legally required on those stairs?
When were those stairs constructed?
Were they compliant when they were built?
When were they last inspected before this accident?
Were there previous complaints, injuries, falls, work orders, or reports concerning those stairs?
Did the County know the railing ended there?
After this accident on March 8, 2024, did the County inspect the stairs?
Was a railing installed or some other corrective action taken?
Are there other County parks with similar stairways?
And what is the actual documented financial exposure to the County?
The public documents answer virtually none of those questions.
The complaint alleges severe and permanent injury, extensive past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. But the materials provided to the public do not contain the medical expenses, inspection history, engineering analysis, maintenance history, applicable construction standard, prior incident history, or the proposed settlement amount.
Corporation Counsel says settlement is being pursued to avoid litigation expense and the uncertainty of a judicial determination. That may ultimately be financially reasonable.
But that is precisely what this committee is supposed to determine.
If government pays a claim because someone was allegedly injured on County property, government accountability cannot end when the check is written.
The taxpayers should eventually know what failed, whether the County knew about it, what was done to correct it, whether the same condition exists elsewhere, and what taxpayers paid to resolve the claim to the extent disclosure is legally permitted.
Otherwise, this process becomes remarkably simple:
Someone is injured.
A lawsuit is filed.
Corporation Counsel negotiates privately.
Council discusses the important details privately.
Taxpayers pay.
And nobody publicly explains whether the underlying government failure was ever corrected.
This is the Government Relations, Ethics, and Transparency Committee. The agenda expressly gives you the authority to recommend adoption with or without revisions, file the resolution, or take other related action.
Use that authority.
Go into executive session. Protect information the law requires you to protect. Listen to your attorneys.
But before recommending Resolution 26-147, establish that you know the condition of those stairs before the accident, the County's inspection and maintenance history, whether the condition has been corrected, whether similar hazards exist elsewhere, the documented damages, the County's actual legal exposure, and the amount taxpayers are being asked to pay.
Then come back into public session and disclose everything that can lawfully be disclosed.
A settlement may resolve a lawsuit.
It does not resolve a government failure.
If County negligence contributed to this injury, fix the problem.
If the County was not negligent, understand why taxpayers are paying.
Either way, do not simply authorize another settlement without demanding the answers first.
Aloha Chair Batangan and Members of the Committee:
Before you approve Resolution 26-147, I ask you to pause.
This is not testimony against Kathleen Platt. She alleges that she was injured at Kulamalu Park, a County-owned and maintained public facility. According to her complaint, she was carrying her granddaughter down a stairway, reached for a handrail that was not there, fell, and suffered a fracture. She alleges there was no warning that the railing ended.
Those are allegations. They are not findings of fact.
Yet the resolution before you would authorize the settlement of this lawsuit under terms that will be discussed in executive session. It would then authorize the Mayor to execute the settlement and the Director of Finance to pay it.
Before taxpayers pay anything, there are questions this committee should answer.
Was a handrail legally required on those stairs?
When were those stairs constructed?
Were they compliant when they were built?
When were they last inspected before this accident?
Were there previous complaints, injuries, falls, work orders, or reports concerning those stairs?
Did the County know the railing ended there?
After this accident on March 8, 2024, did the County inspect the stairs?
Was a railing installed or some other corrective action taken?
Are there other County parks with similar stairways?
And what is the actual documented financial exposure to the County?
The public documents answer virtually none of those questions.
The complaint alleges severe and permanent injury, extensive past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. But the materials provided to the public do not contain the medical expenses, inspection history, engineering analysis, maintenance history, applicable construction standard, prior incident history, or the proposed settlement amount.
Corporation Counsel says settlement is being pursued to avoid litigation expense and the uncertainty of a judicial determination. That may ultimately be financially reasonable.
But that is precisely what this committee is supposed to determine.
If government pays a claim because someone was allegedly injured on County property, government accountability cannot end when the check is written.
The taxpayers should eventually know what failed, whether the County knew about it, what was done to correct it, whether the same condition exists elsewhere, and what taxpayers paid to resolve the claim to the extent disclosure is legally permitted.
Otherwise, this process becomes remarkably simple:
Someone is injured.
A lawsuit is filed.
Corporation Counsel negotiates privately.
Council discusses the important details privately.
Taxpayers pay.
And nobody publicly explains whether the underlying government failure was ever corrected.
This is the Government Relations, Ethics, and Transparency Committee. The agenda expressly gives you the authority to recommend adoption with or without revisions, file the resolution, or take other related action.
Use that authority.
Go into executive session. Protect information the law requires you to protect. Listen to your attorneys.
But before recommending Resolution 26-147, establish that you know the condition of those stairs before the accident, the County's inspection and maintenance history, whether the condition has been corrected, whether similar hazards exist elsewhere, the documented damages, the County's actual legal exposure, and the amount taxpayers are being asked to pay.
Then come back into public session and disclose everything that can lawfully be disclosed.
A settlement may resolve a lawsuit.
It does not resolve a government failure.
If County negligence contributed to this injury, fix the problem.
If the County was not negligent, understand why taxpayers are paying.
Either way, do not simply authorize another settlement without demanding the answers first.
Thank you.
Edward Codelia, Maui Resident