DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM (DBEDT)MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION ON THE 13TH FESTIVAL OF
PACIFIC ARTS & CULTURE (FESTPAC) MEETINGWEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018, AT 10:00 A.M.
HAWAI‘I STATE CAPITOL, SENATE CAUCUS RM. (CHAMBER LEVEL)
415 SOUTH BERETANIA STREET, HONOLULU, HAWAIʻI 96813

Commission Members Present were:
J. Kalani English, Chair
Lynn DeCoite
Māpuana de Silva
Kalani Ka‘anā‘anāDennis Ling-Senate President’s Designee
House Speaker’s Designee
Community Member
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority Designee
DBEDT Designee

Rebecca Crall
Damien ElefanteJames Huang
Michi Moore
Michael Pili Pang
Kapuahelani Sterling
Vicky Takamine-Representative DeCoite’s Office
Deputy Director of Taxation
Taiwan Economic & Cultural Office (TECO)
Senate Communications
PA‘I Foundation
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority
PA‘I Foundation

Guests:Staff:Margaret Ahn
Jamie Lum
Selma Malcolm (Recording) -Deputy Attorney General
DBEDT
DBEDT

Apologies for Absence:
Snowbird Bento
Mehana Hind
Misty Kela‘iMonte McComber-Community Member
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Designee
City & County of Honolulu Designee
Governor’s Designee

CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order by the Chair on Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at 10:16 a.m.,
who welcomed everyone present.
APPROVAL OF MAY 23, 2018 MEETING MINUTES:Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at the Hawai‘i State Capitol, Senate Caucus Room(Chamber Level) 415 S. Beretainia Street, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813
Page 2 of 5

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, were approved with minorcorrections on a motion by Ms. Māpuana de Silva and seconded by Mr. Dennis Ling.
The motion was passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
A. Letter of Invitation to Delegates - Status
The Commission reviewed the draft letter of invitation that the Governor of Hawaiʻi will
sign for the Heads of States. DBEDT will coordinate with the Governor’s Office andKuiniselani Tago-Elisara, Pacific Community (SPC) regarding translation/signing anddissemination of the invitations.
Mr. James Huang, Deputy Director of the Taiwan Economic & Cultural Office inHawaiʻi, offered to translate the letter of invitation into Chinese as well.
B. Festival Coordinator’s Report, Including: Plans, Contingencies & Milestones forHousing, Venues and Fundraising:
Ms. Takamine reported the following:Housing
A total of 3,070 beds are required for housing. Arrangements are being made withvarious universities and colleges on Oʻahu. The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa has atotal of 2,214 beds – (Frear Hall 810, Hale Lehua 351, Hale ʽIlima 351, Hale Lokelani
351 and Hale Mokihana 352) East West Center – (Lincoln Hall 93 and Hale Mānoa 482beds) while Hawaiʻi Pacific University has a total of 377 beds.
The FESTPAC budget includes $4 million for housing costs. Using dorms will help savemoney, and purchasing meal plans will help further reduce costs.
Windward Community College offered their facility to host New Zealand Group.
Tokai University will be contacted to see if dormitory rooms may be available.
One contingency is Kamehameha Schools dormitories.
Chair English and other members urged Ms. Takamine to secure the commitments forhousing as soon as possible to ensure enough dormitory rooms will be available to house

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at the Hawai‘i State Capitol, Senate Caucus Room(Chamber Level) 415 S. Beretainia Street, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813
Page 3 of 5

all the FESTPAC delegates. Chair English stated that this will be discussed with the UH
Board of Regent’s Chair at their meeting scheduled for July 3rd.
VenuesCommission members reviewed the list of venues prepared by Ms. Takamine.
Ms. Takamine met with Ms. Misty Kela‘i and Ms. Georgette Deemer, Deputy Managing
Director of the City and County of Honolulu, on May 31, 2018, regarding possible inkind services the City can provide, such as the use of Kakaʽako Makai for the FESTPAC
Global Village; ʽĀina Moana for Waʽa arrivals, and other parks, city properties/facilities
and services.
Commission members again stressed the urgency of securing these venues for the many
activities and events that make up the Festival.
Ms. Takamine showed a video of modules that can be used for the temporary structuresneeded in the Global Village. These modules are versatile and can be configured to meetthe needs of the delegations. Best of all, they can be re-purposed as shelters for thehomeless once the Festival is completed. They are manufactured in England with astarting price of $120,000 plus shipping and handling. Mr. Huang from TECO said thesetypes of modules are also manufactured in Taiwan and are used for disaster relief
shelters. Ms. Takamine asked him to provide her with more information about themanufacturer.
Fundraising/Sponsorships
Ms. Takamine met with Ms. Denise Yamaguchi, Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival, andMs. Kau‘i Burgess of Kamehameha Schools. They are helping to develop a FESTPAC
Sponsorship pacakage.
Ms. Takamine also spoke with KS CEO Jack Wong, who offered the use of the Schoolʻs
Cultural Center to hold fundraising events.
A meeting with Mr. Micah Kāne of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation is pending.
Ms. Takamine is working with the Hawaiʻi Tourism and Lodging Association to gethotels to sponsor two hotel rooms and ground transportation for the Heads of Delegationand Heads of State. In exchange, the respective delegation would perform on property
and conduct cultural demonstrations for the sponsoring hotel. Further incentive to thehotels is the potential for more business from family and friends that accompany thedelegates.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at the Hawai‘i State Capitol, Senate Caucus Room(Chamber Level) 415 S. Beretainia Street, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813
Page 4 of 5Mr. Kaʻanāʻanā said he can also help facilitate this arrangement by working withPris Texeira, Managing Director of the Hawai‘i Tourism Global MCI program.

NEW BUSINESS:
A. Informational Briefing & Discussion of State & Federal Regulations Relating toFESTPAC Activities with Representatives from the Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation &U.S. Customs & Border Protection:
Chair English informed the Commission members that the representatives from the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection regretably could not attend todayʻs meeting but instead
will be at the Commission meeting in July.
The Chair then introduced Mr. Damien Elefante, Deputy Director, Hawaiʻi Departmentof Taxation (DOTax). Mr. Elefante informed the Commission members that he reviewed
DOTax’s Rules and Regulations and found no exceptions to General Excise Tax (GET)
payments. Therefore, all sales of crafts and products sold at FESTPAC will be subject tothe GET. Each entity intending to sell goods would need to apply for a business license;
complete the GET form online, and submit it with a one-time $20 license fee. During
discussion, Mr. Elefante raised two options: 1) Introduce legislation to create a one-time
exemption from the GET for the 2020 FESTPAC participants; and 2) Have one entity be
responsible for collecting and reporting the GET for all FESTPAC vendors. Chair
English offered to work on language for a bill in relation to the first option.
A question was raised about “diplomatic immunity” and whether this could apply toFESTPAC delegates. Mr. Elefante stated that a delegate would have to have diplomatic
status in order to invoke diplomatic immunity and be tax exempt.
Ms. Takamine pointed out that there will be a marketplace within the Global Village andthat she would want to seek a GET exemption for the marketplace.
Chair English thanked Mr. Elefante for attending the meeting and presenting thisinformation to the members.
On another matter, Ms. Takamine informed the Commission members that she received arequest from the SPC to include the inaugural Pacific Philosophy Conference as part ofFESTPAC. She said she planned to respond to this request, and any other similar
requests that may be made, by saying that these events can be included on the FESTPAC
master calendar but that distinctions will be made between events that are actually part of
the Festival and events that are running concurrent with the Festival but not actually apart of FESTPAC.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at the Hawai‘i State Capitol, Senate Caucus Room(Chamber Level) 415 S. Beretainia Street, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813
Page 5 of 5

NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., at the HawaiʻiConvention Center.
ADJOURNMENT:The meeting adjourned at 11:12 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,

July 16, 2018__________________________________________________________________

Senator J. Kalani English
ChairDate