STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3076

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 242

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 242, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

 

G.M. No. 242

KAULANA PARK,

for a term to expire 12-31-2010,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statements of the nominee, and finds Kaulana Park to have the necessary qualifications for the Chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

 

     Testimony in support of the nomination was submitted by eight state agencies, one Trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, one state agency division Administrator, one county Mayor, twenty-eight organizations, and seventeen individuals.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

Mr. Park has served as the acting Director and Chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands since July 2009.  He joined the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 2003 as Executive Assistant to the Chairman and later became Deputy Director.  As Deputy Director, he provided direct management to administrators for operations efficiency, administration workflow, and leadership development.  Prior to joining the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Mr. Park spent six years with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a Business Loan Manager and Officer.  He managed the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund, supervised loan officers and operations staff, restructured the loan fund program and its advisory board, controlled a portfolio of more than one hundred and fifty commercial clients, and maintained effective relationships with federal agencies.  He is a former Director of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority and the Lokahi Pacific Rural Development, Inc., former Board Councilmember of the Hope Chapel Olomana, member of the 2003 class of the Pacific Century Fellows Program, a 2001 Pacific Business News 40 under 40 recipient, and a former second Vice Chairman of the Hotel and Travel Industry Federal Credit Union.

 

In 2006, Mr. Park was appointed to lead the Governor's Homeless Efforts Achieving Results Together (HEART) team to coordinate solutions for the State's homeless population.  He worked in collaboration with state agencies, the private sector, faith-based community organizations, homeless advocates, non-profit organizations, the military, county agencies, and other groups to address the homeless crisis.  He laid the foundation for the development of three emergency shelters and two transitional shelters along Oahu's Leeward coast.  He also worked with Kauai County to open Kauai's first two emergency and transitional shelters. 

 

     Mr. Park is committed to helping native Hawaiians achieve the dream of home ownership.  The acceleration of lease awards and the development of new programs and outreach by the Department has positioned the Hawaiian Home Lands trust to be one of the largest residential developers in the State.  The Hawaiian Home Lands trust has taken a leadership role throughout the State in bringing focus to areas where infrastructure development is needed to improve the quality of life for beneficiaries and Hawaii's citizens.  He joined the Department in 2003 as the lead strategist and developed a strategic plan and put together a team to implement that plan.  The team has made significant strides in the last seven years including introducing the undivided lease award to provide homeownership opportunities to families experiencing financial hardship, developing a capacity building program for the forty-seven homestead associations, significantly reducing the delinquency rate on vendor payments, more than doubling the Department's income generating portfolio, and developing Community Regional Development Plans to partner with homestead communities for increased communication and coordination.  Your Committee looks forward to Mr. Park continuing the momentum of these accomplishments in his continued service of the beneficiaries.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

 

 

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair