A diverse group of individuals, including residents, ocean recreation users, business owners, planners, architects and elected officials, interested in the future of the Kaka‘ako Makai turned out to participate in the third Kaka‘ako Makai Advisory Working Group (AWG) meeting held on June 25, 2007 at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.  The AWG will be making recommendations to the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) on plans for the future uses of Kaka‘ako Makai.  Reports from the Bylaws Committee and the Facilitator Selection Committee of the AWG were presented at the meeting.

The AWG’s Facilitator Selection Committee presented information regarding the decision-making process it followed for selecting the candidates it put forth for consideration.  Selecting a facilitator is critical to the group’s work and how it manages the recommendation process.  Discussion focused on the best way to move the process forward in an effective and timely manner.

The subcommittee recommended retaining the team of Dr. Karen Cross and Dr. Kem Lowry from the University of Hawaii’s Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace to serve as facilitators.  Comments from those in attendance were generally in support of the committee’s recommendations because of the strong track record the Institute has in successfully facilitating complex issues.

The recommendations of the group’s Bylaws Committee generated considerable discussion with regard to how voting members of the AWG would be selected.  Participants also debated to what degree the structure of the working group and its goals should be incorporated into the bylaws.  Many in attendance expressed a desire for the bylaws to focus on the process of arriving at recommendations for HCDA rather than establishing preordained categories for outcomes.

Many of those present also discussed how much the bylaws should be tied to past legislative measures, which could impede a true visioning process.  A common concern expressed centered on the lack of inclusiveness inherent in the proposed bylaws. Concerns were expressed that the larger community could be ignored and participation restricted only to those affiliated with certain special interests.  Asked about the openness of the process, HCDA Director of Planning & Development, Deepak Neupane, noted, “The Authority has constantly emphasized that the process needs to be open, transparent, and inclusive; anything less would be unacceptable to the HCDA.”