Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 10, 1 October 2007 — DHHL stands by its record [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

DHHL stands by its record

By Mieah A. Kane Editor's note: Mieah Kane is ehainnan ofthe Hawaiian Homes Commission and director of the

j state Department i of Hawaiian Home Lands. The views e.xpressed in this community forum

are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. On Sept. 2 and 3, The Honolulu Advertiser ran two front-page stories critical of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). The articles, written by Jim Dooley, contain several inaeeurate and misleading statements. Mr. Dooley's assertion that DHHL contracts were awarded due to political reasons is false. We have awarded contracts based on expected performance, and that is made clear to all we do business with. Mr. Dooley's articles inferred that the selection committee members were not qualified. This is also false. They are qualified, and just as we expect performanee from the businesses with whom we contract, we expect performance from the people we hire. The allegations of procurement violations were brought by Mr. Dooley after he proposed an incorrect hypothetical scenario to the State Procurement Officer, Aaron Fujioka. After we providedMr. Fujioka with corrected and additional information, he stated the hypothetical situation he responded to did not match the scenario presented in Mr. Dooley's article. In addition, Mr. Fujioka stated, "Based on the information reviewed, SPO (State Procurement Office) concurs with and confirms that (the eontractor) selection complies with the procurement code." Mr. Fujioka also, at our request, suggested additional procedures we ean incorporate

into our procurement process to further alleviate the perception of impropriety. The additional procedures suggested by Mr. Fujioka have already been incorporated in our process. Further, the article refers to the term "non-bid" without clarifying that non-bid does not mean non-competitive. As required by the state procurement code, under a non-bid award, at least three companies are selected from a pre-qualified list and then competitively compared to pro-

duce a most-qualified selection with the supporting justification. This procedure was followed by DHHL. The articles attempt to isolate the historical challenges of a specific project, KēōkeaWaiohuli, as though they are still eommon practice for the department. Previous administrations were unahle to find a way to feasibly proceed with the Kēōkea agricultural subdivision promised to beneficiaries more than 20 years ago. That changed with a stable source of funding to DHHL by the state Legislature and a fresh perspective brought by the Lingle-Aiona administration and Community Planning & Engineering, Ine. The Kēōkea-Waiohuli project is expensive in large part See ŪHHL on pags lū

— KŪKĀKŪKĀ • CDMMUNIĪY FDRUM —

DHHL's 326-unit Kaupe'a project in Kapolei is nearly half-filled with native Hawaiian families. - Photo: Courtesy ofDHHL

DHHL

Cantinued fram page 09 because of the location of the land and highlights the high cost of construction work in the state today. Over the past five years the cost of construction has increased dramatically for many developments. The Honolulu Advertiser has published numerous articles on the skyrocketing cost of housing, and the laek of infrastructure remains a prohibitive factor in affordable housing today. While the Maui project has many challenges, it is indicative of the cost impacts of developing lands that do not have readily available infrastructure nearby. It is also indicative of DHHL's philosophy to address longstanding issues and not leave them for future administrations. Mr. Dooley's articles do not always provide an accurate picture, and it is unfortunate that instead of building homes for native Hawaiians, we are defending a process we followed correctly. We are proud of the performanee of the department, and in the last four-and-a-half years, we have issued more than 2,000 leases. Today, DHHL is one of

the largest, if not the largest, residential developer in the state of Hawai'i. We have projects on every island and homes are being finished every day. For example, DHHL's 326unit Kaupe'a project is nearly half filled with native Hawaiian families, and the site work for 403 lots in East Kapolei 1 has begun. Phase 1 of the 181-unit subdivision in Anahola, Kaua'i will go into house construction early next year. On Maui alone we have seen tremendous progress. Over the past fours years, construction commenced that will result in more than 500 native Hawaiian families getting on their land. Of those 500 families, more than 200 are already in their homes. Today, we anticipate awarding 1,000 leases a year statewide. Due to the hard work and dedication of staff, beneficiaries and contractors who help us perform our work, we have been able to deliver homes to native Hawaiians who have been waiting for a long time. Firms such as Community Planning & Engineering, Ine. assist us in meeting our longstanding obligations to provide land and affordable housing for those of Hawaiian ancestry. We stand by our record. □

lnfrastructure development at Kēōkea-Waiohuli Homestead. - Photo: Courtesy of DHHL