RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the mission of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is to develop and deliver lands to native Hawaiians and to effectively manage the Hawaiian home lands trust; and

WHEREAS, the Department currently leases private commercial office space in downtown Honolulu from which it carries out its day-to-day administrative and program activities; and

WHEREAS, these office leases will terminate in January 2008; and

WHEREAS, the Department has acquired approximately 500 acres of new land in East Kapolei on which it plans to develop more than 1,000 new residential homesteads along with areas for recreational and community use, and commercial activities; and

WHEREAS, the Department's East Kapolei lands provide an ideal location for a Department office building; and

WHEREAS, the Department office building in East Kapolei would serve as the central headquarters for the Department's operations, provide meeting space for Hawaiian homes commission meetings, and serve as a gathering place for other beneficiary organizations; and

WHEREAS, the East Kapolei office site would enable the Department to better serve its large beneficiary population in the Kapolei, Nanakuli, Lualualei, and Waianae areas; and

WHEREAS, a lease/purchase agreement is required to permit the Department to construct this new office facility with the assistance of the private sector; and

WHEREAS, a lease/purchase agreement funded by the issuance of certificates of participation is an efficient and expeditious alternative mechanism through which public facilities can be financed; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is requested to enter into a lease/purchase agreement for the construction of a new office facility in East Kapolei to be financed by certificates of participation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the debt service for the certificates of participation shall come from the Hawaiian home administration account; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Office of the Governor, the Comptroller, and the Chairperson of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Report Title:

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; East Kapolei Office Space