Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 4, 1 April 1990 — OHA Board Business [ARTICLE]

OHA Board Business

By Ed Miehelman Puhlie Information Officer

The board of trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs held its monthly business meeting Friday, Feb. 23, in Honolulu. Present were Chairman Kaulukukui and Trustees Akaka, Burgess, Ching, DeSoto, Hao, Kahaialii. Trustee Keale was excused. Chairman's Report Chairman Thomas K. Kaulukukui Sr. proposed an amended schedule of OHA meetings for the remainder of 1990. The new schedule provides for community meetings on O'ahu similar to those now scheduled for the neighbor islands. (An earlier schedule was published in the Feb. 1990 issue of Ka Wai Ola O OHA.) Generally, the schedule calls for trustee-teams to hold simultaneous meetings in different areas of eaeh island the night before the regular board meeting. Community meetings are held on a Friday evening with the board meeting the following morning. The new schedule lists O'ahu community meetings on the following dates: Apnl 27, Oct. 26, Nov. 30 and Dec. 28. The O'ahu areas and exact loeations will be announced when they are confirmed. Neighbor island community meetings, as previously announced will take plaee as follows: May 25 — Lana'i: June 29 — Hilo/Waimea/Kona: July 27 — Kahului/Lahaina; Aug. 31 — I ihu'e/Kekaha and Sept. 28 — Moloka'i. All community meetings begin at 7 p.m. The vote to adopt the new schedule was 7-1. Trustee Akaka voted "no." The board voted to nominate Clara Ku of Moloka'i as recipient of the "Ka Ha Mai Kalahikiola Nali'i'elua" living treasure award. The award is named in honor of the late Gregory Kalahikiola Nali'i'elua, the former spiritual advisor to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Administrator's Report Administrator Richard Paglinawan briefed the board on the following items: a. The management and financial audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs: The audit has been completed and a response prepared for presentation to the Senate Housing and Hawaiian Programs Committee. b. Pending legislation: The administrator distributed a summary of legislation on whieh OHA testified and whieh is now under consideration by the state house and senate. e. Operation Ka Po'e, the single definition plebiscite: A "Report on the Statewide Plebiscite to Determine Preference for a Definition of 'Native Hawaiian' " is complete and will be transmitted to the legislature. d. Operation Ho'okuleana, the resolution of entitlements due native Hawaiians under the state Constitution and the Hawai'i Revised Statutes: A half haur television special entitled "A Promise in Trust" discusses the background and details of the agreement between OHA and the governor's office regarding native Hawaiian entitlements. It was scheduled for showing on KHET on March 8. The agreement was featured in a special four-page

center section of the March issue of Ka Wai Ola O OHA. Historic Preservation Task Force Report The board was briefed on OHA's preliminary negotiations with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation regarding an intragovernmental agreement transferring administration and management of cultural and archaeological resources at Kualoa Park on O'ahu to OHA. Unfinished Business Mahealani Kamau'u of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) briefed the trustees on an applieahon by NHLC for a grant from the Administration for Native Americans to conduct an education project on sovereignty, self-determi-nation and governance. Committee Reports Committee on Operations & Development The committee reviewed the followingproposed legislation: 1. HB 3431, relating to pension and retirement systems. The board voted to support this measure if it is amended to include OHA trustees in the proposed benefits. 2. SB 3485/HB 31 13, relating to transfer of jurisdiction of certain historic properties to OHA. The board voted to table a recommendation approving these measures. Although the trustees expressed support for the intent of the bills, there was eoneem over the cost and continued maintenance of the properties. 3. SB 3524/HB 3343 (Native Hawaiian Task Force to make self-governance recommendations). A motion for support of this measure was defeated on a 3-2 vote. Trustees Akaka, Hao and DeSoto voted "aye." Trustees Ching and Burgess voted "nay." Five votes are required for approval. Ching, the committee chair said the bill as written may conflict with OHA's draft Blueprint for Native Hawaiian Entitlements. Executive Session Following a discussion of personnel matters in executive session, the board approved Administrator Paglinawan's recommendation to hire Gary J. Bartolome as business loan officer for the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund program. Board Calendar The Board of Trustees was scheduled to meet Friday March 30. The next board meeting will be Friday, April 27, at 10 a.m. at the OHA Honolulu office. Current information on all OHA meetings is available on the OHA Hotline, at 946-5703.