DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM (DBEDT)MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION ON THE 13TH FESTIVAL OF
PACIFIC ARTS & CULTURE (FESTPAC) MEETINGWEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019, AT 9:00 A.M.
HAWAI‘I CONVENTION CENTER
1801 KALĀKAUA AVE., BOARD ROOM AHONOLULU, HAWAIʻI 96815
Commission Members Present were:
J. Kalani English, Chair
Māpuana de Silva
Mehanaokalā Hind
Kalani Ka‘anā‘anāMonte McComber
Richard Onishi
Randall Tanaka-Senate President’s Designee
Community Member At-LargeOffice of Hawaiian Affairs
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority Designee
Governor’s Designee
House Speaker’s Designee
Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism (DBEDT) Designee

Jacob Aki
Maka Casson-Fisher
Vicky Holt Takamine
Honey Maltin-Wisot
June Matsumoto
LorMona MeredithMichael Pili Pang
Jay Rojas-Senator English’s Office
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority
PA‘I Foundation
Strategies 360
Pacific Islands InstitutePacific Islands Institute
PA‘I Foundation
PA‘I Foundation

Margaret Ahn-

Attorney General’s OfficeJamie Lum
Keliann Yamamoto

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DBEDT
DBEDT

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Community Member At-Large
City & County of Honolulu Designee

Guests:Staff:

Apologies:
Snowbird Bento
Misty Kela‘iCALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order by Chair English on Wednesday, November 27, 2019, at
9:08 a.m., who welcomed everyone present.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, Hawaiʻi Convention Center, Board Room A
1801 Kalākaua Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96815
Page 2 of 6

APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 13, 2019 MEETING MINUTES:
Approval of the Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, was deferred.
OLD BUSINESS:
DBEDT Report:
Mr. Tanaka informed the Commission that DBEDT did not have a chance to meet with thePA‘I Foundation regarding the contract adjustments however, Ms. Lum would update theCommission on the status of the memo Mr. McComber submitted previously regarding therenegotiation of PA‘I Foundation’s contract.
Ms. Lum reported the following: Payment was made to PAʻI for reimbursement of theCouncil of Pacific Arts and Culture (CPAC) meeting expenses in September; adjustments
are being made internally with DBEDT’s Fiscal office regarding reimbursement to PAʻI fortravel expenses to Aoteraroa; PA‘I Foundation made recommendations on adjustments tothe budget which DBEDT is currently reviewing to submit to the Commission; PA‘I
Foundation will be submitting a list of all the events that will be held at the HawaiʻiConvention Center (HCC) during FESTPAC; and Ms. Takamine and Ms. Matsumoto are
currently working on the transportation schedule with Roberts Hawaiʻi.
Representative Onishi asked how was Roberts Hawaiʻi selected for transportation from aprocurement standpoint. Ms. Takamine stated that PA‘I Foundation made the initial contactwith Roberts Hawaiʻi, and when Pacific Island Institute (PII) was contracted by DBEDT, PIIcontinued working with them. Representative Onishi asked if there was an allocation in
PII’s contract for that service or if the Commission will be paying.
Discussion was held as to whether the coordination for transportation was taken out of PA‘I
Foundation’s contract while the funding remained in the $1.2 million. Mr. Tanaka advised
the Commission that there is a line item for Logistics under the Contract Services category
for $65,000, and there is also another line under the Salaries/Honoraria category for aLogistics Coordinator for $50,000. Ms. de Silva asked if there was an explanation for thebreakdown of the budget in the PA‘I Foundation’s contract. Mr. Tanaka noted that there
wasn’t any detail under those lines and if the transportation cost was there, that’s how it
should have been defined. The contract requires modification and the Commission is still
waiting for the renegotiation between DBEDT and PA‘I Foundation to occur. Chair English
issued a stern warning to DBEDT and PA‘I Foundation about getting their act together andfinding the time to renegotiate their contract. Representative Onishi shared similarsentiments at the November 13th meeting. He then reiterated that DBEDT and PA‘I
Foundation could communicate over the phone or by email. He warned them that if they did
not resolve it soon, he was prepared to make a motion for the Commission to take on theresponsibility of renegotiating the budget and possibly addressing their contract.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, Hawaiʻi Convention Center, Board Room A
1801 Kalākaua Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96815
Page 3 of 6

Pacific Island Institute (PII - Logistics Contractor) Updates:
Ground Transportation:
Mr. Tanaka asked Ms. Matsumoto how Roberts Hawaiʻi was selected for groundtransportation services. Ms. Matsumoto stated that PA‘I Foundation had initially begun
working with Roberts Hawaiʻi because PAʻI wanted to keep the ground transporation costs
down by using school buses instead of motor coach buses. Roberts Hawaiʻi is the largest
ground transportation provider in the State and the only company that could accommodate
the required number of school buses.
Chair English requested that PA‘I Foundation submit a memo to DBEDT defining theprocess used in the selection of Roberts Hawaiʻi in order to have something on file thataddresses procurement. Ms. Hind reminded the Commission that anything that is contracted
by DBEDT must go through State Procurement and anything that is contracted by one of thecontractors of DBEDT does not have to go through procurement. She indicated the entity(PII/ PA‘I Foundation/ DBEDT) that contracts with Roberts Hawaiʻi, determines thatprocess. Also, the question relating to what actual parts of the budget PA‘I Foundation they
will maintain, cannot be answered until after the meeting with DBEDT.
The Commission reviewed the tentative costs for ground transportation Ms. Matsumotopresented based on the general timeline PA‘I Foundation submitted and on information
received from Roberts Hawaiʻi. She stated that there is a combination of 48 and 56-seater
vehicles and the approximate cost for transportation is $280,000. She also presented an
estimated budget for transportation prior to the official start date of FESTPAC. It covers thearrival of the wa‘a and the activities at Ke‘ehi Lagoon Park. She said the costs are based ona total of 2,000 delegates and estimated at $33,000. The airport transfers for arrival anddeparture of delegates is approximately $45,000.
Housing and Food Service at the University of Hawaiʻi (UH):Ms. Matsumoto confirmed that the total cost of housing and food service (excluding dinner)
for the delegations at the University of Hawaiʻi is $1.5 million. Mr. Tanaka asked when thedelegates are expected to arrive (first night) and check in to the dorms. Chair English said it
depends on the flights as they will be coming in from different areas in the Pacific and basedon his recollection of an earlier discussion, the Commission estimated 3-days before and 3days after the Festivals. Mr. Tanaka asked if the Commission is obligated to pay theadditional expenses for meals, transportation and housing for the 6-nights, and the answer
was yes. Mr. Tanaka indicated that currently no rooms are being held before June 10, 2020.
Chair English stated that as a matter of place holder, we should look at the projections andget the additional rooms.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, Hawaiʻi Convention Center, Board Room A
1801 Kalākaua Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96815
Page 4 of 6

Placement of Sponsorships Logos and Link to Sponsors’ Website on the FESTPAC 2020
Homepage:
Ms. Ahn stated that at the last meeting on November 13th, PA‘I Foundation asked whether
the donors’ logos on the website could contain a link to the donors’ websites, and the answer
from the Ethics Commission was yes. Also, PA‘I asked whether, depending on the amountof the donation, could the size and the placement of the donors’ logos on the website differ.
The answer from the Ethics Commission was also yes, as long as they are applying objective
factors in determining the placement and size of the logos.
Emergency Appropriation Bill:
Ms. Ahn inquired if the Emergency Appropriation Bill discussed at the November 13th
meeting is still being considered as the legislative session will start soon. Representative
Onishi said with the recommendation of DBEDT, the Commission would have to make arequest to the Governor and in terms of the availability of the funds, it may not be available
until near or after the event. Chair English noted that an emergency appropriation bill is an
extraordinary measure requested by the Governor, and it’s done in the governor’s messageso it can come anytime during the session.
Other Reports:
PA‘I Foundation
Ms. Takamine reported the following:
Ms. Takamine advised that PA‘I Foundation received confirmation from 12 countries with a
total of 889 delegates. Five (5) countries will be sending 100 delegates each to FESTPAC
while the other seven (7) will be sending between 50 and 70 delegates.
There was a discussion that the delegates will need letters of invitation in order to get theirvisas. Ms. Lum will forward a copy of FESTPAC letterhead to Ms. Takamine who willdraft a letter to the delegates that will be used to obtain their visas. Since the letter will besigned by Chair English, Ms. Takamine will send the draft to him to review. Onceapproved, Ms Takamine will prepare the final letters and send them to DBEDT to obtain
Chair English’s signature. DBEDT will mail the letters. Chair English then indicated that
he and Representative Onishi would speak to the congressional delegation about visa
assistance for all the participating nations.
Mr. Rojas stated that at the last Festivals, Guam made arrangements with individual
embassies in the region to work with their consular to facilitate the visa requests for thedelegates. PA‘I Foundation made a similar request to the State Department and they said
that it could be allowed, to some extent. But the change in administration between 2016 andnow, may pose some issues. Chair English suggested that they will work on both ends, asMinutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, Hawaiʻi Convention Center, Board Room A
1801 Kalākaua Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96815
Page 5 of 6

he and Representative Onishi will meet with our congressional delegation to put pressure onthat level.
Ms. Takamine stated that during the last two weeks they revisited some of the venues. Therooms will be finalized at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center (HCC) and the Commission will
be advised accordingly. Hosting of events with other venues are still being negotiated.
Strategies 360 (Communications Contractor):
Ms. Maltin-Wisot reported that FESTPAC 2.0 website launched on November 18, 2019 andpicked up more than 600 new users in its first week. Most of these users accessed thewebsite via mobile device. Eighty percent of them are between the ages of 18-34.
Chair English noted that he received several requests in the region about FESTPAC apps
and asked if it is being worked on. Ms. Maltin-Wisot responded that there is no funding todevelop an app.
NEW BUSINESS:
Chair English said he will be attending the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures (APIL) Board
Meeting in Saipan during the week of December 1-7, 2019 and asked Ms. Matsumoto if they couldroute the room block through PII for the 2020 APIL conference for 60-80 participants. Theconference is a 4-day event that will be held in the Senate Chamber. The participants are very
flexible with the dates. Chair English said he will suggest the conference be scheduled during themiddle of FESTPAC, starting from June 15, so that APIL delegates can spend some time with
FESTPAC delegates from their respective islands and see some of their performances.
Measles Outbreak in the Region/Immunization:
The Commission discussed the outbreak of measles in the region and the effect it might have on
FESTPAC 2020. Mr. Tanaka will reach out to the State Health Director and the Center for Disease
Control. Chair English suggested that the Biosecurity team meet quickly as letters will be going out
to the region soon and information on immunization for FESTPAC delegation could beincorporated.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 11, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. at the HawaiʻiConvention Center, Executive Boardroom A.
At the December 11, 2019, meeting the Commission consider meeting dates for 2020.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, Hawaiʻi Convention Center, Board Room A
1801 Kalākaua Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96815
Page 6 of 6

ADJOURNMENT:The Meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,_________________________________
Senator J. Kalani English
Chair________________________
Date