THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

53

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

requesting DEL MONTE AND the Galbraith Estate to allow residents to continue to reside at Poamoho Camp until at least December 2005, to allow the residents time to find housing solutions or affordable alternative housing.

 

WHEREAS, Poamoho Camp, outside of Wahiawa, Oahu, has been home to numerous Del Monte plantation workers and retirees for several decades; and

WHEREAS, the rent at Poamoho Camp has continued to be very affordable to residents, even with recent increases; and

WHEREAS, Del Monte's lease with the landowner of Poamoho Camp, the George Galbraith Trust, expires on June 30, 2004; and

WHEREAS, approximately 300 people live in the camp, 95 percent of whom are Del Monte employees who will be re-deployed to other company operations and the remainder are retirees; and

WHEREAS, at the end of the lease, the property must be restored to the same condition it was received, which means the camp needs to be razed; and

WHEREAS, many of the residents of Poamoho Camp, particularly the retirees, cannot afford accommodations outside of the camp; and

WHEREAS, for this reason, the residents, together with elected officials, are searching for options, including the formation of the Poamoho Camp Residents Association to possibly assume the lease for the camp property at least until 2007, the deadline for the liquidation of the Wahiawa lands; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature is also considering having the State assume ownership of the Poamoho Camp land through a land exchange; and

WHEREAS, the residents of Poamoho Camp are open to exploring any option that would allow them to remain at the camp until other affordable housing is found; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Legislature hereby requests that Del Monte continue to operate Poamoho Camp until at least December 2005, or, in the alternative, offer financial assistance to aid residents of Poamoho Camp seeking housing solutions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature hereby requests the Galbraith Estate to allow residents to continue to reside at Poamoho Camp by entering into an agreement to lease the 90-acre camp parcel to the Poamoho Camp Residents Association or an entity of the Association's choice until at least December 2005, to allow the residents time to find housing solutions or affordable alternative housing; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, City and County of Honolulu Councilmember of the 2nd District, President of the Wahiawa Community and Business Association, Chairperson of the Wahiawa Neighborhood Board, President of the Whitmore Community Association, President of the Poamoho Community Association, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Hawaii, General Manager of Del Monte, President of the International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union of Oahu, and Chairperson of Malama O Wahiawa.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Poamoho Camp