1-3-09 A money-saving idea from fellow owner Ann Robinson: As you know, property values in the Ilikai have significantly declined. Recently, you received your Property Tax Assessment Notice. You may wish to review the assessed value of your property and compare it to recent sales of similar units in the Ilikai. If you feel that the City and County of Honolulu has assessed your apartment at a value that is higher than that of recent sales, you may wish to file an appeal. Important: your appeal must be filed by January 15th, 2009. A sample appeal is available by clicking on this link.
1-3-09 Active management at Ilikai keeps property fresh
12-30-08 Starwood Drops Management of W Honolulu Diamond Head Hotel. Starwood announced it will end its management contract of the W Honolulu Diamond Head hotel effective January 9, 2009. The hotel will no longer be named the W Honolulu Diamond Head and its management will transfer to ANEKONA or a new operator, according to travelpulse.com.
12-18-08 iSTAR FM LOANS, LLC, ANEKONA's lender, filed a motion for Summary Judgment against all defendents and for Interlocutory Decree of Foreclosure on December 17, 2008. The motion was granted by Judge Blondin of the Circuit Court. Details on the hearing and ruling are described in more detail in The Star Bulletin and the Pacific Business News. You may read the stories by clicking on the links (shown in red).
12-8-08 You may have received maintenance fee payment coupons for 2009 from Hawaii First, Inc. The first batch of coupons erroneously listed a separate amount for air conditioning although it had been decided to no longer break out that amount. Thus the coupons called for a monthly payment of $538.02. The correct amount should have been $498.02 for a one-bedroom apartment. Corrected coupons have been mailed and if you have not yet received them, they should arrive shortly.
12-6-08 - 12-18-08 This site was off the air. New developments, however, make it necessary to restart the website and keep the Ohana informed.
12-5-08 This has been a tumultous week. The AOAO had been paying electricity bills for several months without being reimbursed by ANEKONA. This week, after the AOAO threatened to cut electricity to ANEKONA's properties, an interim agreement was reached under which ANEKONA's lender agreed to pay $250,000 to the AOAO, avoiding the power cutoff for the time being. Negotiations are continuing.
12-5-08 More than one month ago, we welcomed Messrs. Webb and Dominguez to our Board of Directors and asked them some questions that had been received from owners. Read our email to them here and form your own opinion.
11-30-08 Owners John Hall (not to be confused with John V. Hall, the director) and Jo Ann Fitzpatrick sent a letter to the Planning Director, City & County of Honolulu. Read it here.
11-26-08 The customary Board of Directors meeting recap is now available. We can now also - finally - share with all owners the 2009 Approved Budget, the 2009 Approved Maintenance Fees and the Reserve Study. Just click the name of any of the files named above and view the relevant document.
11-24-08 The next Board of Directors meeting will be held tomorrow, November 25, 2008 at 10 a.m. in Canoe's [former] restaurant. You can view the agenda by clicking here.
11-24-08 The following photograph is self-explanatory.
11-23-08 "Henry J. Kaiser, Hawaiian Booster - by Randall O'Toole. Compare Henry Kaiser to today's "developers". You can read the story by clicking here.
11-21-08 After some 50 owners and members of Local 5 showed up for the Liquor Commission Hearing, eRealty & Companies requested a continuation of the hearing. In the face of substantial opposition to the granting of a general liquor license for the Yacht Harbor Tower, the applicants decided that a continuation was better than an outright denial. They cited three reasons for their request: 1. they had "just" started their community outreach, 2. eRealty is finalizing construction plans with Marriott after which they would be able to be more specific in terms of areas and times where liquor would be served and 3. they had "discovered" rumors and misinformation which they wanted to correct. It seems that these days, we can only get answers about plans when our support is needed. Our recommendation to eRealty: Communicate your plans, be less arrogant and thus avoid any rumors.
We have obtained a copy of the agreement between eRealty and Marriott as well as the agreement between eRealty's lenders and Marriott Hotel Services. If you are interested in reading these agreements click here for the Management Agreement and here for the Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Attornment Agreement between Wells Fargo Bank, M. Waikiki (an eRealty company) and Marriott Hotel Services.
11-19-08 WAIKIKI (KHNL) - A high-rise fire in Waikiki Tuesday night sent at least one person to the hospital. The fire started in a condo unit on the 19th floor of the Ilikai Hotel. At least part of the hotel had to be evacuated while fire crews investigated. They tell us one person was in the unit at the time of the fire and that the room was cluttered with personal items. The sprinklers helped them contain the flames. Crews had the fire under control shortly after 7:30 p.m. Paramedics took one person to the hospital in stable condition for observation. The cause is still under investigation. Damage from the fire is estimated at $40,000.
The November 3rd, 2008 Board meeting could not be concluded due to the fact that Richard Emery of Hawaii First, Inc. was unable to attend and present financial information. As a result, there will be a supplemental Board meeting tomorrow, November 7th, 2008 at 10 a.m. in the Maui Room. Taking advantage of the fact that Director Popovich will not be available on such short notice, the ANEKONA-aligned directors have added a few agenda items in the hope of pushing them through. Please see the agenda here. Owners are asked to attend this meeting in force to monitor activities by the Board.
11-7-08 NBC's affiliate KHNL Channel 8 covered yesterday's rally against the issuance of a general liquor license to the owners of the Yacht Harbor Tower. Click here to read the article.11-7-08 Here goes another one. According to the Star Bulletin, First Hawaiian Bank has filed a lawsuit to foreclose on the W Hotel, owned by Brian Anderson. Read the article here.
11-4-08 Entities that own or operate the Yacht Harbor Tower have applied for a general Liquor License. Most Ilikai owners protest the granting of this license. Please click here to read about our reasons for the protest. We have made it easy for you to protest the issuance of the liquor license. Please click on this link and load the protest form. You can then print it out, complete it and fax it as soon as possible to 808-941-2166. Thank you for your support.
10-31-08 A new parking plan goes into effect Saturday at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor. The lot is located behind the Ilikai Hotel, next to the helipad and Kaiser's surf break. More than 300 hundred stalls will be free for ocean users, but will be closed overnight from 10:30 to 4:30. The remaining stalls are designated to harbor tenants and paid parking, which will cost 25 cents an hour. Diamond Parking has been selected by the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources to manage the parking areas.
10-31-08 On October 28, 2008 Circuit Court Judge Karen N. Blondin ordered the appointment of Mr. Joseph M. Toy as Receiver for iStar, ANEKONA's lender. According to reliable sources present at the hearing, Mr. Gary V. Dubin, ANEKONA's attorney attempted to persuade the Judge that the appointment of a Receiver was unwarranted. In his arguments, he admitted that Brian Anderson never had any intention to operate a hotel in the Ilikai. His plan was always to sell individual condominiums. Of course, Ilikai owners were not fooled by Anderson. They knew all along that his so-called renovation plans were for the sole purpose of getting owners' approval to change the restricted usage covenants in our governing documents so that the hotel portion of the Ilikai could be converted to individual units either for conversion to a condotel or time share. Judge Blondin's order can be viewed here.
10-29-08 Please check the "Letters from and to Owners" tab occasionally as new letters have recently been posted.
10-25-08 The lawsuit filed by Ilikai owners against ANEKONA-aligned directors on October 6, 2008 in Circuit Court has been responded to. Read the "I know nothing" response here.
10-20-08 - News you did not want to hear: Thanks to a dedicated owner with a camera we are able to expose the monstrosity built by the Hilton Hotel next door. The fact that Hilton has been able to plough ahead with view-obstructing buildings begs the question how our Board of Directors and its legal support team have allowed this to happen. Please view the images posted under the "Gallery" tab. If you wish to express your concerns, please write to the Board of Directors c/o Peter Herndon. His email address is: pvherndon@y2marketing.com. In addition, it may be useful to contact Mr. Henry Eng, Director of Planning & Permitting at the City and County of Honolulu - Tel: 808-768-8000 or send a fax to 808-768-8001. Only forceful protests will get their attention.
Before Hilton's Monstrosity
After Hilton's Monstrosity. Ilikai Owners, please get involved to have this torn down!
10-14-08 Late Update: At today's Special Board Meeting, called on Friday within minutes of conflicted Board members being served with a lawsuit, the Board elected two Board members to replace Teri Orton and Wendy Redman. They had resigned rather than face legal action. To no surprise to anyone, the new Board members are Mr. Creighton Webb, a long-time supporter of ANEKONA and their "renovation" plans and Mr. A. James Dominguez, CEO and President of JD Painting & Decorating, a former Ilikai contractor hoping to get new business. Also, at this meeting, the Board hired a former employee of Hawaii First, Inc. He was hired as a Manager-Consultant at $7,000/month for a period of at least 3 months. It is not known what his function will be. Perhaps he has novel ideas on how the AOAO can collect overdue maintenance fees from ANEKONA. Can the AOAO afford yet another consultant when we are experiencing serious financial problems due to ANEKONA's delinquencies? If you want to read our opinion and commentary, please click here.
10-14-08 Update: At a status conference yesterday, Judge Gary Chang of the First Circuit Court decided not to bar today's special board meeting from occurring, in which ANEKONA-aligned directors have indicated a plan to replace two directors who had voluntarily resigned as a result of impending legal actions against them. However, the Court expressed concern to counsel for Defendants about ANEKONA stacking the deck with directors. The Court also expressed concern about the creation of a General Manager position. The Association is financially strapped because ANEKONA has defaulted on maintenance payments. The total sum owing may soon surpass 1 million dollars. The Court invited the suing owners back to Court in the event that the ANEKONA-aligned directors do not meet their fiduciary responsibilities.
10-10-08 Now that ANEKONA-aligned Board members have been sued in Circuit Court, they are rushing to call a Special Board Meeting for Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 2 p.m. to fill the vacancies created by the two Board members who have voluntarily resigned at the request of the suing Ilikai owners and directors. They have also decided to hire a General Manager for the Association in Executive Session, a position that has not been approved. All indications are that the current conflicted Board members are trying to maintain control of the Board, even if they are ultimately removed by a Court of Law. View the Notice of the Special Board Meeting here.
10-06-08 More than 100 owners and 2 directors have filed a complaint on behalf of the AOAO in Circuit Court against ANEKONA-Aligned directors for removal and monetary damages. Read the complaint here.If you are interested in previous posts, please go to the "Archived" tab.