Audit: UH neglects arboretum

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

The University of Hawai'i has neglected Lyon Arboretum for decades, allowing it to slide into "disorder, disrepair and dysfunction" without strategic guidance and funding support, according to an audit released yesterday by state Auditor Marion Higa.

"Today, the arboretum's potential as a research, scientific and educational institution remains largely untapped," said the audit. "Providing little strategic direction, the University of Hawai'i has undervalued and underutilized a significant resource."

In criticizing university administration of the 194-acre facility over the past half century, the audit advised the university to develop a strategic plan for the facility even before seeking $3 million for repairs from the Legislature.

But Chuck Hayes, interim dean of the College of Natural Sciences under which the arboretum now falls, said it's crucial that funding be appropriated in 2005.

"If the Legislature waits on the $3 million for the next legislative session, it will have a significant negative impact on the arboretum," said Hayes, who has been spearheading the recent safety analysis and improvements to the facility.

"If the Legislature does support the arboretum and appropriate the necessary money, that funding will not come to the university until the task force has made clear the direction in which we're going."

Interim Vice President for Research James Gaines said the university has launched a task force of university faculty and community groups headed by Waikiki Aquarium director Andrew Rossiter to prepare a strategic plan for the "appropriate role" of the arboretum within the UH system.

At the same time Gaines said he was "disappointed" the auditor did not recognize how quickly the university responded to concerns about health and safety issues raised earlier this year, and efforts by the staff "which have addressed many of the shortcomings in past practices."

His comments were echoed by Interim UH President David McClain.

"I am disappointed that so little recognition was given to efforts of the university since last June which have addressed many of the shortcomings in past practices," said McClain by e-mail.

"The announcement by UH Manoa chancellor (Peter) Englert that the Lyon Arboretum will be fully reopened to the public in January underscores the speed with which we have moved on this issue."

McClain said he "looks forward" to working with the governor and the Legislature to secure the necessary $3 million to make essential improvements at the arboretum.

It was an Aug. 11 letter from Higa to McClain voicing concerns about safety and liability that prompted the university to close the facility to the public Aug. 27 and take steps to address the safety of aging cottages, pathways, utility lines, and bathroom facilities. With an extensive number of safety measures undertaken, and a number of the cottages closed because of structural dangers, UH has now scheduled the arboretum to reopen to the public Sunday.

In a stinging rebuke of the university's lack of stewardship of its unique botanical facility at the back of Manoa Valley, the audit points out that UH has repeatedly failed to develop and fully utilize what it was given back in 1953 by the Hawai'i Sugar Planters' Association.

Reports by the American Association of Museums and Museum Management Consultants going back to 1982, 1989 and 1991 urged the university to recognize the importance of the arboretum and fully commit to its support. But the closest the university came to formulating and acting on a mission statement was in the early 1990s, although even that was never fully completed. "The time is long overdue," said Higa in the audit, "for the university to honor its stewardship."

The auditor said that over the years the arboretum has been underfunded, leaving employees to devise ways to find outside funding, including direct appeals to the Legislature and the creation of the Lyon Arboretum Association to solicit donations and grants.

The latter, however, led to a new set of problems, including:

• Disputes over the control of association funds.

• Poor accountability for funds.

• Lack of clarity over the ownership of certain equipment.

• Management of arboretum funds outside the university's accounting system, contrary to university procedures.

• Free use of arboretum facilities and grounds by the association without a lease agreement, contrary to university policies.

A representative of the Lyon Arboretum Association could not be reached for comment. President Emmy Seymour is traveling and past president David McCauley did not return calls to his law office.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.