Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 4, 1 April 1995 — Board Business [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Board Business

Nā Kuleana a ka Papa Kahu Waiwai

By Ellen Blomquist Public lnformation Officer Chairman Clayton Hee convened a regular business meeting of OHA's board at 10 a.m. Feb. 23. Trustee Abraham Aiona was excused; all other members were present.

Several agenda items were deferred to the March 2 BOT meeting, and it was agreed that the chairman and administrator's reports would be heard at that meeting. Trustee Billie Beamer requested that discussion of the Hawaiian Master Plan and Operation 'Ohana be added to the agenda under the Health and Human Services Committee. The agenda was then approved as amended by all members present. The minutes of Jan. 3 and 12 were approved by all members after corrections were made. Chairman Hee acknowledged a request by Trustee Rowena Akana to indicate the actual voting in the minutes rather than noting "motion carried" and instructed staff to do so. New Business Procurement Code. The board agreed 7-0 (Trustees Aiona and Moanike'ala Akaka absent) to allow Administration to publish a legal notice soliciting professional legal services as permitted by HRS 103D, the new procurement code. It was agreed that further discussion would continue at the Budget. Finance and Policy Committee. New Business - Committees Heahh and Human Services. Trustee Beamer brought up the Hawaiian Master Plan and raised a number of questions with regard to its authorization, source of funding, purpose and results. She noted that some questions had been answered by material forwarded to her by Administration but requested clarification on other issues. She also spoke of the imponanee of Operation 'Ohana and the need to increase enrollment since it was potentially important to validate voters for the plebiscite. She offered to work with Trustee Akaka, chair of the Planning, Eeonomie Development and Housing committee on the issue. Land and Sovereignty. Trustee Kīna'u Boyd Kamali'i, chair of the committee, reported on OHA's legal activity with regard to the proposed 'Ewa Marina. the Waiāhole water issue, and water reservations. She noted ihe importance of retaining current legal counsel to continue these efforts. Chairman Hee pointed out that, although he understood the need for immediate action on pending eases, that these issues needed to be brought to the board to take an official position. Kamali'i also spoke of presenting at the Feb. 20 Ka Lāhui Hawai'i symposium on sovereignty, and Ka Lāhui's expressed willingness to work together with other organizations. She noted that Ka Lāhui's initiatives would be reviewed in committee and confirmed dates for a Land and Sovereignty committee workshop. With regard to HSEC, Kamali'i reported that the Senate bill for HSEC funding was killed and the House version changed the date of the plebiscite to 1996, noting further that the chair of the House Finance committee said he might not hear the bill. She then reviewed the current finances of HSEC and the balance remaining in their previous appropriation from general and trust funds. March 2 A special meeting of the BOT was convened at 2 p.m. March 2 by Chairman Hee. Trustees Moses K. Keale Sr. and Abraham Aiona were excused; all other members were present. The agenda and chairman's correspondence report were approved 7 - 0. The administrator's reports of January and February were approved, with the January report corrected to reflect OHA"s capacity to identify parcels of ceded land. New Business 1993-1994 Audit. Gary Nishikawa of Deloitte and Touche presented the board with the FY94 audit, whieh presents OHA's financial information for that fiscal year. Trustees directed several questions at Nishikawa, generally asking him for an opinion on OHA's investment strategy. the amounts held in cash accounts, etc. Nishikawa responded that that was not within the scope of the audit, whieh was to determine only if OHA followed generally accepted accounting principles — whieh it does— and that CPA ethics prohibit providing investment advice to clients. The audit was referred to Budget, Finance and Policy where trustees could go over the audit in greater detail and ask Deloitte and Touche more questions. Emergency Procurement Authority. The board as chief procurement officer for OHA authorized the retention of legal counsel for upeoming contested case hearings, on the basis of the potential threat to native rights. New Procurement Code and Trust Funds. The board discussed eonsulting with the Attorney General on whether OHA was ob!igated to continued on page 14

Board Business from page 1 1

follow HRS 103D, the state's new procurement code. Sherry Broder, legal counsel to the board, advised that since the law refers to "public funds," it would be prudent of the board to follow the statute, as a new and higher standard of accountability to its beneficiaries.

Budget, Finance and Policy Board members present reviewed five proposals requesting support from OHA, one of whieh (a grant request from John Kaha'i Topolinski) was referred back to BF&P. The other four proposals received support: $47,237 to the Edith Kanaka'ole Foundation, $30,984 to Hale Naua III, $85,720 to Nā Kālai Wa'a Moku o Hawai'i and $9,600 to Hāna High and Elementary School. (See story page 8.) Land and Sovereignty Board members present agreed to withdraw from the Bishop Trust Company Ltd./Joseph and Sarah Yee Revocable Trusts kuleana case in favor of known heirs. HSEC. Ms. Mahealani Kamau'u, HSEC member and head of its Education Committee, apprised the board of the status of HSEC's legislative request for funding and on its various education initiatives. She noted that beginning a large scale education initiative was difficult in light of the Governor's freeze on spending. Kamau'u said, however, that a 60-second PSA running on Channel 2 generated 300 to 400 phone calls a day and that they had made progress in their plans for community networking. Wai'āhole Water Issues. The Board heard several items related to the Wai'āhole water case, and board members agreed to: • file a formal objection to the water use permit submitted by Dole Company as a non-trust water use • file a formal objection to the water reservation filed

by Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate for Waiawa, in light of the need to evaluate all O'ahu water allocations, in context of Hawaiian water rights. • approve OHA filing a petition for interim in-stream flow standards for restoration of Windward O'ahu streams, in the belief that stream restoration is the best assurance for the protection and practice of traditional Hawaiian rights and a reasonable and benefieial use of water, both recognized by the state water code. The filing of a water reservation by OHA on behalf of Hawaiian rights was referred back to committee for further discussion. Revocable permit/United Laundry Services. The board members agreed to refer United Laundry's request for a revocable permit back to the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) for final determination. The committee referral noted that these reviews are not within OHA's jurisdiction and BLNR's reference to possible transfer of properties to OHA beg fundamental questions with regard to that transfer. Ad Hoe Committee on Entitlements Chairman Hee reported that BLNR had approved the sale of parcels of ceded land at Hanapepe and that the Housing Finance and Development Corporation had also approved the sale of ceded land at Waimānalo and Lualualei. He further informed board members that the Hawai'i Community Development Authority had leased one and a half acres of ceded land at Kaka'ako to the Historic Hawai'i Foundation. Hee advised Administration of the importance of monitoring the activities of these agencies and informed the board, that although the Governor had signed the documents pertaining to these agreements, he was not aware that they affected ceded land when he did so.