Kalaupapa Transition Interagency Working Group (KTIWG) Planning Meeting
Wednesday, January 13, 2022
1. Introductions
| Agency |
Participant name |
Participant title |
| DHHL |
Shelly Carreira
Nancy McPherson |
Land Agent, Land Management DivisionPlanner |
| DLNR |
Blue Kaanehe |
Land Division, Appraisal and Real Estate Specialist |
| DOH |
Michael Casey
Baron Chan
Ken Seamon |
Planner, Hansen’s Disease Branch
Chief, Hansen’s Disease Branch
Administrator, Kalaupapa Settlement |
| DOT |
Hannah Hays
Brian Kamimoto
Traci Lum
Scott Pires
Herman Tuiolosega |
Planner
Assistant Airport Superintendent
Planner
Airport Fire Chief,Maui District
Planner |
| Maui County |
Stacy Crivello
Sgt. Hubbard
Sgt. McCutcheon |
Mayor’s Representative, Molokai
Maui Police Department
Maui Police Department |
| NPS |
Nancy Holman
George Turnbull |
Superintendent, Kalaupapa National Historic Park
Contractor |
| DOI/NHR |
Stanton Enomoto |
Senior Program Director, Native Hawaiian Relations |
Meeting agenda reviewed and approved with no changes. Kudos to Meredith Speicher, NPS for her ongoing facilitation support to the group over the last several years. Her workload does not allow her to continue in this capacity.
3. Review/Edit/Approve Group’s Previous Draft Meeting Notes
Meeting notes were submitted to the group with comments requested back to Michael Casey by January 20, 2022
4. Discussion/Updates from Transition Group
DOH - Department of Health
DIRECTOR BRIEFING
A briefing on the status of the Kalaupapa interagency group was calendared with Director Libby Char prior to the Holidays but was cancelled at the last minute due to a Covid press conference. It will be recalendared in the near future. It points out the need for the group members to “up brief” to senior staff on the activities of this group.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT REQUESTS
With the start of state legislative session activities for the year, DOH has submitted three Capital Improvement Projects for funding:
- Construction & Demolition (C&D) landfill closure. This fulfills the response to a consent decree mandating closure. The request is for ~$7,800,000
- Building renovations. ~$945,000 for roof repairs to the care home and warehouse, as well as other required repairs on DOH-controlled assets.
- Underground storage tank assessment and removal plan. Assess what is in place and develop a plan for removal since the tank is mandated by law to be closed by 2028. The request is for ~$580,000. (Additional future funding will be required for removal of the tanks)
DHHL voiced support for these proposals since the projects take place on DHHL lands.
ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
DOH earlier this year requested utility easements from both DHHL and DLNR. DOH was notified by both DHHL and DLNR that the requests were incomplete and will require:
- Legal description of the easement being requested;
- Survey map for the easement areas.
NPS inquired about the status of the “business case” document request by Hawaiian Electrical Company (HECO) for their consideration regarding assuming ownership of the electrical system or providing services through a maintenance contract. It has been submitted to the DOH Director’s Office for signature and is awaiting review.January has been designated Kalaupapa month and several activities are planned to commemorate the history of the settlement throughout the month.
NPS - U.S. National Park Service
RECRUITMENT
Recruitment continues to be a challenge, especially with the Holidays. Covid and remote work exacerbate this challenge.
PROJECTS
The park continues to move forward on several large projects. These include:
- Electrical Upgrade Project. There has been a slight pause as the NPS engineering group selects a design/build contractor.
- Well Pump Replacement. This project is slightly delayed due to supply chain issues in delivering required components.
COORDINATION WITH DOH
NPS staff are meeting regularly with DOH staff to address a variety of operational issues including but not limited to building maintenance, assignment of properties and jurisdictional issues.
MEETING FACILITATION
For future interagency meetings, George Turnbull will take the lead on facilitation given Mike Casey’s ever-expanding workload. Thanks to Mike for a fine job in facilitation to date!
DOT - Department of Transportation
DOT reported an incident of illegal parasailing at the Kalaupapa airport The parasailers were asked to refrain since this is not permitted in airport airspace (or anywhere else on the Kalaupapa peninsula). It was agreed in the future that the following procedure take place in the event of illegal parasailing:
- Ask the group to leave and explain this is not a permitted activity;
- Photograph and video the plane tail number, and if possible get the pilot’s license number;
- Send the information to the Hawaii State Department of Transportation, where in turn it will be forwarded to the Federal Aviation Administration (Flight Safety Standards Bureau) for further enforcement action.
DOT staff reiterated the need for NPS to complete action in finalizing the DOT/NPS Cooperative Agreement (currently in draft form) so that law enforcement issues like this and other relationships can be formalized.
DHHL - Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
BENEFICIARY WORKING GROUP UPDATE
As reported earlier, DHHL has contracted services of a local non-profit, Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development (HACBED), to facilitate a Kalaupapa Stakeholder Beneficiary Working Group. The group will hold its fourth meeting on January 31. This is the last meeting discussing “process”. Future meetings will expand to more specific topics that surfaced through the earlier meetings. The next meeting will discuss how to “grow” and include in the discussions other beneficiaries beyond the working group. The following link was provided for more detailed information on the working group’s activities to date:
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands | Kalaupapa NHP – NPS General Management Plan
DLNR - Department of Land and Natural Resources
DLNR had no new reports.
Maui County
MAYOR’S OFFICE
The Mayor’s Office clarified and confirmed that this group’s purpose is strictly operational with a goal of smooth transition to the future when DOH departs. The group is not recommending or determining ”the future of Kalaupapa.” That will be subject to a larger political process statewide.
U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations
OHNR had no new reports.
5. ADJOURN
The next tentatively scheduled group meeting will take place on May 12. It will be determined later if the meeting will be virtual or in person. It will also likely consist of several targeted break out meetings over a one week period of interest to a specific subset of this group based on topics.
