Lingle seeks to merge agencies

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Gov. Linda Lingle went before the Legislature for the second time in a week yesterday, this time lobbying to shift responsibility for redeveloping the Aloha Tower area to the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, which now oversees improvements in the adjacent Kaka'ako district.

The Senate Committee on Water, Land and Agriculture voted unanimously to advance Senate Bill 1287, which calls for merging the duties and resources of the Aloha Tower Development Corp. with the Hawai'i Community Development Authority.

Lingle said the two state agencies share similar missions and that a consolidation would "increase efficiency (and) improve coordination of all activities along the waterfront."

She and business leaders are "very impressed" by the progress made in Kaka'ako by the HCDA board and its executive director, Jan Yokota, the governor said.

On the other hand, "there have been numerous, ongoing legal problems at the Aloha Tower Marketplace," Lingle said. "My administration will take a proactive approach to resolve these problems and work closely with the private sector entities involved to facilitate a more profitable environment. I believe this can best be accomplished by working with the HCDA."

Among the problems is the January 2002 bankruptcy filing by the Aloha Tower M.P., the partnership that owns Aloha Tower Marketplace. The vendor has also sued Aloha Tower Development Corp., claiming the agency blocked its efforts to succeed at the historic landmark.

The $2.4 million in the Aloha Tower agency's funds would be transferred to HCDA. The future of the two appointed staffers and one civil service staffer with the agency has not been decided.

Yokota said she and board members "strongly support" the merger. Also giving testimony in favor was an official with Victoria Ward Centers, the largest single landowner in the Kaka'ako district.

Daniel Orodenker, project manager for the Aloha Tower Development Corp., said the agency backs Lingle's plan.

Lingle's appearance at a Senate committee hearing yesterday was her second in a week. While previous governors stuck to the fifth-floor executive offices at the Capitol, Lingle said she intends to go back on Thursday to testify on mental-health treatment and that she will continue to speak to lawmakers in person if she feels strongly about specific legislation.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at 525-8070 or gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.