The 2010 Hawaii State Legislature is wrapping up its session.  We previously reported on several Bills of relevance, such as the ones applicable to the Ala Wai Harbor.  Here is another Bill that could be of concern.  If the original SB 2402 gets passed, then 37 transactions now exempt from the general excise tax (GET) would be subject to a 1% GET.  These include gross income generated by nonprofit organizations from certain conventions, etc, and – of relevance to us – maintenance fees paid to condominium associations.  Here is a link to a April 7, 2010 article in Star Bulletin about this.  There are though reports of proposals to trim down that list of 37 transactions.  Representative Tom Brower (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kakaako), whose district consists of approx. 95% condominiums and cooperatives, introduced on April 6 a floor amendment to remove from the 1% increase in taxation one of the 37 classes the current bill would tax: condominium maintenance and homeowners fees.  You could support his effort by email to repbrower@capitol.hawaii.gov or fax at 808-586-8524.  If you do so, then you’d better do it ASAP!

Those of you who follow local news would know by now that the State Legislature is seriously considering proposals to use money from the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund to help balance the state budget.  Apparently, the state’s actual and aspiring leaders have been promoting this idea for years already, incl. during much better economic times.  “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

Here is a quotable I’d like to share with you – enjoy   D. G. “Andy” Anderson, who is the father of Brian Anderson, was a gubernatorial candidate back in 2002 and was actively promoting the idea of borrowing from the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund to balance the budget.  Here is his argument: “Only the funds would be borrowed. The hurricane program as is on the book would stay intact.”  If you click on this link, you will read more on Andy Anderson’s campaign proposals.  And here is another quotable from there, “Anderson is running this year as a Democrat. He has run unsuccessfully twice before for governor as a Republican.”

As reported on this site earlier on March 20, 2010, there are a number of Bills going through this year’s Hawaii State Legislature that could be of relevance to us at the Ilikai. 

Ala Wai Harbor

This includes several Bills that include the Ala Wai Harbor in their scopes.  Here is a detailed update as of today, April 3, 2010, regarding the status of those Bills.  This update was put together and so kindly supplied to us by Makai Society that is representing members of the ocean use community.  We THANK them so much for all their tireless efforts and for keeping us apprised!  Sincere huge THANKS!

Since we are on this subject, here is some information about the Ala Wai Harbor for readers who are not as familiar with the area.  The Ala Wai Harbor is a small boat and yacht harbor in Honolulu, HI.  Situated at the mouth of the Ala Wai Canal, it separates Waikiki and downtown Honolulu.  The harbor hosts 700 berths, 85 moorings, 1 boat ramp, and 20 dry storage spaces. 

Ala Wai Harbor

Our Ilikai as well as the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Hilton Hawaiian Village are located adjacent to this harbor, with views of the harbor from many of the rooms.  The TransPac sailing race is a very big event that takes place every two years; the race begins in Los Angeles and ends at the Ala Wai Harbor.  The harbor has the Ala Wai Harbor Waikiki Yacht Club and the Hawaii Yacht Club.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village announced their so-called Master Plan.

Here are some documents that we’ve obtained: Hilton Hawaiian Village 2010 Master Plan Project Description - this document shows a plan for what they are planning to do, Hilton Hawaiian Village 2010 Master Plan Fact Sheet, and Hilton Hawaiian Village 2010 Master Plan snapshot.  These are marketing materials by Hilton.

Here is what is Honolulu Advertiser of March 31, 2010 reports on this project.

To summarize, Hilton Hawaiian Village is planning to re-develop the resort to add two new timeshare towers. 

Rendering of Hilton Hawaiian Village with two planned new timeshare towers

Hilton’s so-called Master Plan also calls for: renovating its retail district, Rainbow Bazaar; an improved streetscape; new pools for kids and adults; new retail shops along Kalia Road and Rainbow Drive leading to an improved main hotel entry and front desk area; a new bar called the Hau Tree Bar; and renovated and expanded parking structure.  Overall, it is supposed to be a multiyear, multistage project.

But really, the main part of this Master Plan – and also something with the most [not sure what word to use here] for the Ilikai will be the two new timeshare towers.  The first timeshare will be a 300-unit, 37-story tower to be built near the Kalia Road bus depot, just Diamond Head of Tapa Tower.  The second timeshare tower will be a 250-unit, 25-story tower to be built atop the redeveloped Rainbow Bazaar, which will be replaced with a two-story retail complex.

We learned that the previous AOAO Board of Directors at their last meeting on February 25, 2010 (in Executive Session) decided to replace our current management agent, Hawaii First, with a company called Hawaiian Properties.

An owner, Robert Humphreys, wrote a letter to the Board on March 23, 2010 questioning this switch and detailing related concerns, such as alleged conflicts of interest of a Board Director, Dass Ramadass (Dass Ramadass is a Board Director, even though he does not own property at the Ilikai, but is an employee of Hawaiian Properties).  For your information, Robert Humphreys is a seasoned attorney, still in active practice, incl. serving as an arbitrator and advising state agencies and national and local organizations.  He also was a U.S. Army officer and aviator.

I, too, sent a letter on February 18, 2010, to the then Board, i.e. the previous Board that made the decision to switch to Hawaiian Properties, and the AOAO legal counsel, Milton Motooka, to list related concerns.  In my opinion, switching to Hawaiian Properties as the management company could trigger a whole web of conflicts of interests, with the Tokioka Family at the center of it, through an elaborate proxy collection scheme and now the management contract paid for with AOAO funds.  I am perplexed how this is allowed and the direction the governance and management of the AOAO is taking.  Note that in my letter I explicitly asked to advise me at their earliest convenience if I had any factual misunderstandings or ungrounded concerns.

I did not receive a response from the Board or Milton Motooka.  Robert Humphreys did not receive a response either, but was told, upon his inquiry, that the current Board chose not to revisit this decision by the previous Board.  One can easily speculate why.

Please also note that there are other management companies in town, such as Certified Management and Hawaiiana.  They are highly reputable companies.

Here is a March 26, 2010 article in Pacific Business News about Terry Dowsett as the new General Manager of the Ilikai Hotel.  

Mr. Dowsett brings to the Ilikai more than 30 years of experience in the Hawaii’s hotel industry.  This includes work at Aqua hotels where he assisted with the re-opening of the Aqua Palms, and also work as director of operations for the Big Island’s Mauna Lani Resort, general manager for Embassy Vacation Resorts in Kaanapali, Maui, and general manager of the Outrigger Prince Kuhio in Waikiki.

Welcome to the Ilikai!