Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 3, 1 March 2007 — OHA presence on Lānaʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA presence on Lānaʻi

Aloha kākou. At a recent Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment committee meeting, trustees were enlightened with the wonderful news of progress in securing a home for OHA on Lāna'i. Since OHA's inception, Lāna'i has never had its own community resource coordinator (CRC). Instead, the Moloka'i CRC has been tasked with the duty of advocating for Hawaiian beneficiaries on both Moloka'i and Lāna'i. OHA trustees since the late 1990s have envisioned a presence on Lāna'i, with a part-time CRC, to allow more of OHA's programs and services to reach Hawaiians on Lāna'i. OHA trustees even had a part-time CRC position inserted into the personnel budget, but being unable to secure an office space on Lāna'i was an unrelenting obstacle. With a limited supply of retail office space on the island, it has been a difficult task to finalize. Options of sharing a space with other organizations have been thoroughly investigated in the past but a successful outcome never established. Finally in September 2006, OHA hired longtime resident Pearl Ah Ho to serve as Lāna'i's first part-time CRC. Since her hiring, Pearl has been working out of her home and spending lots of time in training with Moloka'i CRC Irene Ka'ahanui. Pearl is very excited about the potential of an office space set aside for her Hawaiian advocacy work. She visualizes having a fully outfitted office complete with Internet

and OHA network accessibility, a copier and fax maehine, and especially a plaee where Hawaiian beneficiaries ean eome to learn about OHA's services and programs. In his impromptu presentation to BAE committee members, OHA's Deputy Administrator Ron Mun circulated a scaled diagram of the rental space being negotiated for lease by OHA. The highly anticipated future OHA office is none other than the former Oshiro's Service Station located on the corner of Lāna'i's Frasier Avenue and Ninth Street. The office space under negotiation is approximately 432 square feet and includes a shared lavatory. An adjoining space of approximately 305 square feet has been turned into a beautiful art gallery. Preliminary negotiations with Castle and Cooke Lāna'i Vice President Miehael Schochet are encouraging. Preliminary terms involve the company making improvements to the electrical system, drywall and exterior painting. The installation of a slight ramp to the front entrance of the office space will insure that the office is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Around the middle part of February, Deputy Administrator Mun was able to do a site visit and meet with Mr. Schochet and Mae Ulep of Castle and Cooke Resorts LLC. After trying to obtain a space on Lāna'i for so many years, Mr. Mun is cautiously optimistic about securing the loeation. He looks forward to obtaining a lease agreement from the eompany's legal advisors and getting final approval from OHA's administration. With all agreements and improvements in order, Mr. Mun hopes to have Pearl Ah Ho in her new office by this summer. S

Cūlette Y. Maehaelū TrustEE, Mūlūka'i aud Lāna'i