HR248

WHEREAS, the Ewa Plantation Company leased land about 20 miles from central Honolulu and began operating a sugar plantation in 1890; and

WHEREAS, by the late 1920s, some 5,000 people lived on the thriving plantation, which by then had 600 homes for workers, skilled employees, and supervisors in numerous camps, athletic and recreational facilities, social clubs, a community store, a health center, a hospital, and an administration building; and

WHEREAS, eventually, ownership of the plantation was transferred for financial reasons and the physical plant and economic activity started to decline; and

WHEREAS, in the 1970s, anticipating the expiration of the sugar company's land lease in 1995, the City and County of Honolulu (C&C) began planning to expand the Ewa Villages into a suburban "Second City"; and

WHEREAS, advocacy from the historic preservation community and community groups helped the C&C to come up with the Ewa Villages Revitalization Project (Project), with the following four purposes in mind:

(1) To provide affordable housing opportunities and a continued sense of community for the current village residents and other island families;

(2) To preserve the historic character of the plantation villages;

(3) To develop a drainage program to remove the villages from the flood zone; and

(4) To break even financially;

and

WHEREAS, in 1995, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) detailing the plans for revitalization was signed by the Farmers Home Administration, now known as the Farm Service Agency, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Office, now known as the State Historic Preservation Division, as parties to the agreement, and the Department of Housing and Community Development of the C&C, some of whose functions have been transferred to the Department of Community Services, Department of Parks and Recreation of the C&C, and the Historic Hawaii Foundation acknowledged their concurrence; and

WHEREAS, the MOA and subsequent commitments related to the MOA require the renovation and maintenance of the historic properties in the historic core of the Project; and

WHEREAS, the historic properties in the historic core have not been significantly renovated or maintained as agreed under the terms of the MOA since its inception due to lack of funding; and

WHEREAS, the provisions of the MOA requiring the restoration and maintenance of the historic core of the Project have not been terminated, annulled, modified, or invalidated since its signing; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the City Auditor of the C&C is requested to conduct an audit of the Project and MOA; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the C&C City Auditor is requested to include in the audit:

(1) The commitment of the parties to contribute to the renovation and maintenance of the historic properties, including the amounts contributed, amounts expended, and the balance remaining;

(2) The status of the funds earmarked for the renovation and maintenance of the historic properties; and

(3) The status of the MOA, including its validity, enforceability, and any amendments thereto;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the C&C City Auditor is requested to submit to the Legislature a report of the audit no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the council members and the mayor of the C&C are requested to facilitate the execution of the terms of the MOA and subsequent commitments relating to the renovation and maintenance of all historic properties listed in the MOA; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, Chairperson of the City Council of the City & County of Honolulu, the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, the Chairpersons of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and City Auditor of the City and County of Honolulu.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Ewa Villages; Audit

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	248
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII