A development consultant, a neighborhood board member and a slipper company owner are among nominees announced Friday by Gov. David Ige to reconstitute the board of the state agency regulating development in Kakaako.
Ige is tasked with appointing a whole new board for the Hawaii Community Development Authority after the Legislature passed a law last year terminating the current board as of March 1.
The governor presented most, but not all, of his nominees to the Senate on Friday for consideration and confirmation.
It appears unlikely that the nine-member board will be in place by March 1 given the timing of the nominations and confirmation process, which could leave the agency temporarily without the ability to make decisions.
The Legislature required that HCDA board nominations be sent to the Senate by Jan. 29. A spokeswoman for Ige said there was a delay because a list of recommendations from the City Council wasn’t given to the governor until Jan. 28, leaving him insufficient time for review and interviews.
Ige’s nominees named Friday are:
< John Whalen, founder and semiretired consultant of planning and development consulting firm Plan Pacific Inc.
< Tom McLaughlin, Ala Moana-Kakaako Neighborhood Board member.
< Jason Okuhama, self-employed mortgage broker.
< William Oh, principal of Standard Financial LLC.
< Steven Scott, owner of slipper maker Scott Hawaii.
Whalen, who was also director of the city’s Department of Land Utilization from 1985-89, was selected by Ige from a list offered by Senate President Donna Mercado Kim.
McLaughlin, a business consultant and former director of business development for Kualoa Ranch, was selected from a list offered by House Speaker Joe Souki.
Okuhama, Oh and Scott were selected from lists offered by the City Council.
Two positions on HCDA’s board are automatically filled by the directors of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Budget and Finance or their designees.
Ige also has two other HCDA board picks — an at-large member and a cultural specialist — that he has yet to make.
Given that the Senate must hold confirmation hearings for the nominees, it appears unlikely that a new HCDA board will be confirmed before March 1.
Some lawmakers were concerned enough about the potential for a boardless HCDA that they introduced a bill Jan. 26 proposing that existing board members be allowed to continue serving until the legislative session is finished in May.
The bill, House Bill 333, was introduced by Reps. Marcus Oshiro, Isaac Choy and Calvin Say but has not been heard.
HB 333 cited the possibility that six development permits for projects including condominium towers would be automatically approved if the board cannot make timely decisions. However, the projects cited in the bill have already been approved or do not have pending development permit applications.
Besides Kakaako, HCDA regulates land use in Heeia and Kalaeloa. Ige put forth nominees for board members restricted to vote on issues pertaining to those jurisdictions. These nominees were selected from lists offered by the City Council.
For Heeia, Ige’s nominees are:
< Donna Camvel, a University of Hawaii doctoral student and caretaker of Leleahina Heiau.
< Amy Luersen, director of philanthropic services for the Hawaii Community Foundation.
< Brett Nakoa Prejean, owner of Hawaiian sailing canoe tour company Hawaiian Ocean Adventures LLC.
For Kalaeloa, Ige’s nominees are:
< Michael Golojuch Sr., retired administrative services officer for the city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services.
< Shirley Swinney, founder and president of Kapolei Community Development Corp.
< Dean Capelouto, general manager of shipping firm Oahu Express Ltd.
The law overhauling HCDA’s board also automatically adds two nonvoting members: the director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting and the chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.
