RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation of the Department of Land and Natural Resources manages Hawaii's ocean recreation and coastal programs, including small boat harbors and boating facilities, pursuant to chapter 200, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, the small boat harbors provide important recreational and commercial opportunities for those engaging in boating, fishing, and other ocean activities; and

WHEREAS, the Boating Division has inadequately managed the small boat harbors, as cited in the Auditor's reports of 1993, 1998, and 2001; and

WHEREAS, this mismanagement continues till today as evidenced by the recent departure of senior managers from the Boating Division and a lawsuit brought against the Department by a Boating Division employee; and

WHEREAS, due to this mismanagement, Hawaii's boating facilities have deteriorated to the point where the public's safety is threatened, significant revenues are lost, and ocean recreational opportunities are diminished; and

WHEREAS, the Ala Wai small boat harbor is just one example of inefficient management in the Boating Division; and

WHEREAS, the Ala Wai small boat harbor has deteriorated to the point that seventeen per cent of the mooring slips are out of service and another twenty-three per cent are in such bad condition that they should be closed, leaving only sixty per cent of the slips in working condition which detrimentally impacts revenues; and

WHEREAS, the Auditor's Report No. 01-09, cited an insufficient fee structure for boating facilities with the State's highest mooring rate (of $4.10 per foot of vessel at the Ala Wai) is less than half the $9 charged at Ko Olina, a private boating facility; and

WHEREAS, the state land near the Ala Wai small boat harbor is one of the most valuable in the Department's inventory and is used for more than seven hundred fifty parking spaces that are free to the general public, hotel workers, condominium tenants, and construction workers while providing no income for the maintenance of the Ala Wai boat harbor; and

WHEREAS, the lack of security is another public safety issue at the Ala Wai small boat harbor with theft, drinking, drug use, fights, and even murder taking place on the premises; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Yacht Club, with over eight hundred members, and the Waikiki Yacht Club, with over seven hundred members, currently lease fast and submerged lands at the Ala Wai from the Department and manage and operate successful boating facilities; and

WHEREAS, the leases serve as good models that establish performance standards and progressive benchmarks as achievement targets; and

WHEREAS, these boating clubs have conceptually proposed a public/private partnership that would have a community-directed nonprofit corporation operate the entire Ala Wai small boat harbor through a similar lease with the Department; 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 Land and Natural Resources is requested to determine the feasibility of contracting with a private nonprofit corporation to manage the Ala Wai small boat harbor; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to convene and facilitate an Ala Wai harbor working group to provide general guidance in the development of the study that includes one member each from the Hawaii Yacht Club, the Waikiki Yacht Club, Ala Wai harbor tenants, area surfers, area canoe paddlers, the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki, the Ala Moana Neighborhood Board, and a for-profit marina management company; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Ala Wai harbor working group, with the assistance of the Department, is requested to, at a minimum:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Ala Wai harbor working group are requested to conduct public hearings on the draft of the feasibility study to obtain feedback from the general public; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit the final version of the feasibility study, including an executive summary, the process used to conduct the study, findings, and recommendations, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the President of the Hawaii Yacht Club, the President of the Waikiki Yacht Club, the General Manager of the Hawaii Prince Hotel, and the Chairperson of the Ala Moana Neighborhood Board.

Report Title:

Department of Land and Natural Resources; Small Boat Harbors; Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor