KTIWG August 2022 Planning Meeting Notes

Kalaupapa Transition Interagency Working Group (KTIWG) Planning Meeting

Thursday, August 11, 2022
9:00 AM
MS Teams Meeting

1. Introductions

Agency	Participant name	Participant title
DHHL	Shelly Carreira Nancy McPherson	Land Agent, Planner
DLNR	Blue Kaanehe	Land Division, Project Development Specialist
DOH	Michael Casey Baron Chan Sara Beth Newell Glenn Wasserman, MD	Planner, Hansen’s Disease Branch Chief, Hansen’s Disease Branch Administrative Officer, Hansen's Disease Branch Chief, Comm. Disease & Pub. Health Nursing Division
DOT	Hannah Hays Brian Kamimoto Lynette Kawaoka	Airports Division, Planner Assistant Airport Superintendent Airports Division, Planner
Maui County
NPS	Nancy Holman George Turnbull	Superintendent, Kalaupapa National Historic Park Contractor
DOI/NHR

2. Review/Edit/Approve Today’s Meeting Agenda

Meeting notes were reviewed prior to meeting and posted to NPS website, https://www.nps.gov/kala/getinvolved/may-2022-meeting-notes.htm.

3. Discussion - Updates from Transition Group

NPS – National Park Service

Superintendent Nancy Holman has been on the job for almost one year. She presented on a variety of current issues (“3 buckets”):

1. Strategic/Planning
2. Staff Recruitment
3. Agreements

Strategic/Planning

Nancy has focused on learning how the park operates, as well as how it interacts with partners and the public. Effort has been placed into establishing a process and committee in the park for planning work and compliance for ongoing projects. A park team has been established for sharing information and working on strategic issues. She is setting up regular meetings with partners and other agencies.

Frank Lands, the NPS Pacific West Regional Director visited the park recently. He has a strong interest in emergency response planning at Kalaupapa and instituting more robust, legally sufficient agreements with other agencies and partners.

A Building Workshop will be held at the park August 22-23 with participants from DHHL, DOH, and NPS staff. The park is requesting participation of the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD). The focus of the meeting will be looking at the current state of structures in the settlement, how historic preservation takes place, who has responsibility for what buildings/functions going forward, and what needs to be done to best manage them.

Recruitment/Planning

Several positions have been filled at the park:

• A Natural Resources Program Lead has been selected – Linh Ahn Cat.
• An auto mechanic position has been filled based on a successful local recruitment effort, Noland Rapanot.
• A temporary Cultural Resources Program Lead has been selected for 120 days - Kristin Hoppa. She will be on-site for 3 weeks, then work remotely through December while the park continues to recruit to fill the fulltime position.
• A retired Facilities Manager – Dave Brouillette will be assisting the park in mentoring staff, implementing maintenance systems in the park and writing project statements. He is scheduled to start mid-Sept and work for several months while the park continues to recruit to fill a permanent Facility Manager.
• A temporary Deputy Superintendent, Bob Palmer will assist the park for a few months while the park recruits for a permanent Deputy. This arrangement is not unusual for a park of this complexity.
• A staff person will start at the end of August (for approximately four months) with a focus on enhancing the park’s website as a portal for communicating with the public and setting a foundation for improved community outreach.

Agreements

The park is actively reviewing agreements and legal authorities in several areas:

• Trail Access: the park is awaiting a response from the RW Meyer estate regarding the legal authority for individuals to pass over their private land en-route to the trail. NPS is not comfortable with public re-opening of the park until an agreement is in place. State and federal employees may still access the trail to reach the park.
• Relationship w/Hawaii Electric Company (HECO): NPS would like to enter into a contractual relationship with HECO to repair/maintain the high voltage electrical system within Kalaupapa. This is complex due to ownership of infrastructure and who is the “customer”. Both of these roles are held by the State of Hawai’i.
• Maui County Mutual Aid Agreement: Updating the current agreement to include NPS as well as DOH is important for emergency response coordination.
• Clean-up/Waste removal: NPS is again exploring conducting an Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) for the entire peninsula to assess waste remediation needs.
• Commercial Service Operations: Any commercial activity in National Parks is required to be permitted through a legally appropriate instrument. Prior to reinitiating commercial tour operations in the park, the nature and scope of the instrument to be used must be assessed by NPS solicitors.

DOH – Department of Health

Travel restrictions – visitor permits

• In March 2022, DOH began allowing patients and employees to sponsor up to four (4) family/friend visitors to the Settlement. At the August 9 Community meeting, Ken Seamon announced that DOH will begin allowing patients and employees to sponsor slightly larger groups - up to six (6) visitors at a time. “Essential service workers” can still be sponsored by government organizations in Kalaupapa. Public tours are not permitted at this time.

Electrical system/Mutual Aid Agreement

• Several documents related to the electrical system project and a revised mutual aid agreement involving DOH, NPS and Maui County are still at the Attorney General’s office for review, given the latter’s overwhelming workload associated with COVID response and the recently completed State legislative session.

Telephone Service

• Problems continue with telephone landline service settlement-wide. Hawaiian Telcom has identified problems, but indicates that the entire system needs to be replaced (older replacement parts are no longer available). A large scale re-installation of communications equipment is likely to present issues of jurisdiction (Who owns? Who does fixes? How does DOH pay for services and repairs?). DHHL, NPS and DOH will need to coordinate on strategies going forward.

CIP funding

After several years of requests, DOH received Legislative approval for 3 projects that will begin during this fiscal year:

• Construction & Demolition (C&D) landfill closure. This fulfills the response to a consent agreement mandating closure.
• Building renovations including needed roof repairs to the care home and warehouse, as well as other required repairs on DOH-controlled assets. The state legislature funded this project at $945,000.

• An underground storage tank assessment and removal plan was funded.

The projects will be handled by the DOH Capital Improvement Coordinator and DAGS.

Kalaupapa Memorial

DOH is figuring things out in pieces on this. Since this funding request was not part of the Department’s operational or capital Improvements request, the process is very unclear. (This funding was appropriated by the Legislature at the request of a non-governmental entity and designates DOH as the expending department). DOH has completed the first step: requesting release of funds from Governor (not yet released/received). Next steps will include getting an update from Ka Ohana on their plans, budget and timelines for construction. Next will be figuring out legal ways – under State procurement laws – to make the funds available to support Ka Ohana’s efforts since they are the only entity designated under federal law to establish the Memorial in Kalaupapa NHP.

DOH, DLNR, DHHL have supported the goal of creating a Memorial, but it appears that there will be a need for all agencies to assist Ka Ohana with navigating all requirements related to the lease, design approvals, environmental compliance and the challenges of construction project logistics in such a remote location. NPS Superintendent Holman has an upcoming meeting scheduled with the Ka Ohana Board soon.

DHHL – Department of Hawaii Home Lands

Kalaupapa Beneficiary Working Group

The group has not met recently. DHHL is planning a meeting after the primary election. The plan is to meet with the group regarding the NPS/DHHL General Lease as well as the NPS Section 106 Programmatic Agreement sometime in September. Nancy McPherson suggests DHHL will make best efforts to provide very clear answers to beneficiary group concerns.

Potential future site visit (Chair, Deputy, staff)

The Hawaiian Homelands Commission would still like to plan a visit sometime after barge operations are completed this summer.

DLNR – Department of Land and Natural Resources

No updates.

NPS requested the name of someone at DLNR who might help the park with state environmental compliance issues for the electrical system upgrade project. Daniel Ornellas from the DLNR Lands Division was provided as a contact.

NPS also asked who to contact at DLNR to coordinate with regarding deer population management. A contact at DOFAW will be provided to NPS. Brian Kamimoto (DOT) suggested that there may be some contacts within DOCARE. He also reminded everyone that US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a vendor for DOT wildlife mitigation efforts at the airport.

DOT – Department of Transportation

With elections coming up, there will be a “mini-reorganization” at DOT with potential changes of leadership in Director/Deputy Director positions. It looks like there may be a replacement for Scott Pires - Airport Fire Chief, Maui District who recently retired.

USDA will be conducting a wildlife hazard assessment at the Kalaupapa airport in the near future.

DOT is exploring the potential for using satellite technology for internet needs at the airport.

DOT has added a second worker at the airport.

COM – County of Maui

No report.