MIN CHARTER 2019-05-10 (2018-2020)

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission -11 May 10, 2019 CHR. ADAMS: Thank you so much. Are there any other testifiers in Hilo? MS. KALEIMAMAHU: Yes Chair, we have one more testifier. CHR. ADAMS: If we could have that testifier please. MS. KALEIMAMAHU: She just walked in, she will be right there. CHR. ADAMS: If you could please identify yourself by name and then the agenda items that you will be speaking to. You will have five minutes... you will have three minutes per agenda item. If it is more than one then it will be five minutes. SHELLEY MAHI-HANAI: Communication No. 3 in support and commenting. MS. MAHI-HANAI: Hi, Aloha, my name is Shelley Mahi-hanai and I am actually a former worker of the County and so my job was to look at Hawaiian issues inside Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resource Commission. So as many well know Kawa is actually one of our worst case scenarios as far as consultation of federal undertakings, under Section 106. So what I am here today to testify about is that in the PONC (Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission) ordinance, I was instructed to look at the original Charter base for PONC and then basically to suggest a couple of issues. One is the consideration for a non -purchase agreement with Family Lands and the reason for this is of course I am going to hand one in to be printed up on the website but in this whole area you have what is called native tenant rights and according to the head of the DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources), land department and what not, you need to take this into consideration inside the PONC there is... I have a letter written from Department of Finance stating that we have no policy on native tenants in PONC areas so it would basically be an amendment to the basic Charter for PONC and that it would also require an ad hoc committee, the formation of an ad hoc committee to discuss issues of native tenant rights and also rights of royal patents with land commission awards under HRS (Hawaii Revised Statutes) 172-11, that is a law of 1872 and also the water rights under HRS 174C-101 Native Hawaiian Water Rights. So I wanted to let you know that under civil case 9073 on page four, that the Hoa'aina or native tenant rights are reserved in the parcels. They are specifically reserved at Kawa under Helu Grant 1530, that is the pond, and 993, that is the parcel, and also I have a deposition here from Thomas Okuna, October 7, 1986, basically stating that the title, you cannot warrant the title from the sugarcane plantations and so, there is an issue of what is called life estate, that even if the Hawaiians worked for the sugarcane company, they were supposed to give it back after they were leasing it, and that if it is a royal patent grant, that is forever and it Page 5