Bill Signed & Haena Playbook Unveiled

On June 8, Governor Josh Green signed House Bill 1183 into law as Act 73 at Haena State Park. This law exempts parking lot operations at state parks and operations of concessions at certain state parks from the bidding requirements for concessions operated on public property.  Click here to watch a video of the bill signing ceremony.

Why is this change in the law important?

Before this law was passed, Hui Makaainana O Makana operates under a one-year revocable permit to manage the entry and cultural resources at Haena State Parks from the Department of Land & Natural Resources.  The Hui has to renegotiate and appear before the Board of Land & Natural Resources each year for a renewal.  A permit for a longer term would be subjected to state procurement laws and open to bidders who have never been involved in this community based effort to manage the park.  With this law now in place, the Hui will be able to negotiate a ten-year contract with Division of State Parks, subject to approval by the Board of Land & Natural Resources.

How does this affect The Hanalei Initiative?

Currently, because of the one year revocable permit, THI’s subcontract from the Hui to manage the park’s parking and integrated access system was also based on the one year revocable permit.  A ten-year contract will allow better planning and more certainty for our organization.  Secondly, this longer term contract gives greater recognition to the fact that the integration of all the services that THI provides is critical for a successful and financially viable operation which requires THI to manage, coordinate and partner with over six different entities in its daily operations.  For more details on how this integrated access system is working, please click on this link and go to Exhibit A on page 34 to read our report, the Haena State Park Integrated Access System First Year In Review.

Haena Playbook

The second big event of the day was the unveiling of the Haena Playbook, a case study of our community’s experience in the transformation of Haena State Park co-authored by State Representative Nadine Nakamura and Chipper Wichman with input from key leaders who helped to drive this paradigm shift in state park management.  The playbook was written as a tool to help other communities deal with their local “hot spots,” special areas that are being overwhelmed by visitors.

Click here to read more about the bill signing ceremony and the Haena Playbook unveiling in this Civil Beat article by Brittany Lyte.