*This Post Is About HPP* Waikahekahe, WATUMULL'S, Owners/Members Meeting 10/27/2024

[Patricia]

Aloha all,
This post is about the dysfunction that is the HPPOA board. If you are not interested in HPPOA politics (some of which are similar to problems that some other "substandard subdivisions" face) then please feel free to skip.

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Attached you will find the agenda, for the Owners/Members Meeting to be held this Sunday, October 27, 2024, in the HPPOA clubhouse ("activity center") at 3:00 PM This agenda was put together by the board (president?).

Listed, you will find "Special Business," regarding the "burial site." And aside from committee reports,  the bulk of the meeting is taken up with bylaw amendments. Currently, there are 11 pages of bylaw amendments. However, when the board run Bylaws Committee finally gets the amendments in correct order for presentation, there will be, roughly, 50 pages for Owners/Members to review, discuss, and vote upon. (No joke)

50 pages seems like a lot- doesnt it? Still, when HPPOA wants to get something done, bygolly, they dig their heels in, get out their bulldozers, and shove it through.

BUT

How many Owners/Members know about the archaeological study that was performed on the Cultural Preservation Site? The report was published in September of 2024 (did you know?). It is 308 pages long, and contains chapters addressing the following:

1. INTRODUCTION
-Study Area Description-

2. BACKGROUND
-A Cultural-Historical Context for the Current Study Area-
*The landscape of Waikahekahe Nui and Iki
*The mythic period: Kane, Pele, 'Ai La au, Hu iaka, and other deities
*Other traditional legendary accounts of Puna
*Settlement of the Puna District an archaeological and cultural perspective
*Chiefly rule in Puna
*The celebrated agricultural landscape of Puna
*Early 19th century descriptions of Puna and the Waikahekahe vicinity
*The Mahele Aina of 1848
*Settling the boundaries of Waikahekahe Nui and Iki Ahupua'a
*Shipman Ranch and the changing landscape of Puna during the late 19th and early 20th century
*W.H. Shipman Ltd. Land Court Application N. 1053
*Sugar Plantation and the Puna District during thr mid-20th century
*Waikahekahe Nui and Iki Ahupua'a during the late-20th century- Hawaiian Paradise Park
-Previous Archaeological Studies-
*Summary of archaeological settlement patterns in the vicinity of the study

(Note: no 3 is listed)

4. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY FIELDWORK AND FINDING
-Field Methods-
-Results of the Fieldwork-
*Discussion of features by type, distribution, and possible function
*Discussion of feature age and duration of use

5. HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND STEWARDSHIP
-Historic preservation considerations for the future study area-
*Potential site boundaries
*Initial assessment of significance
*Development considerations
*Preliminary consultation
-Stewardship Recommendations For The Study Area
*Recommendation for immediate actions
*Recommendation for additional study
*Recommendation for the creation of long-term stewardship plans
*Conclusion

This long-awaited archaeological study (think decades) is sitting, again waiting. Waiting behind "progress." Waiting behind the "restructure" of what is most important to HPPOA, which is HPPOA (not to be confused with HPP).

So, I ask you Owners/Members, Which is more important?

Rushing through bylaw amendments, because of an impending lawsuit that the board may lose?

Or forgetting about HPPOA's "problems" for a while and focusing on OUR COMMUNITY'S Unfinished Business? A community which has been "divided and ignored" for decades.

This is my idea for an agenda, starting with 12, which I have changed to Community Resource Report

12) Community Resource Report (Judi Houle)

13) Special Order of Business
a) Keoni Alvarez will present information regarding the Burial sites near 16th and Makuu
b)Take Owner/Member questions and engage in discussion, regarding Keoni's information and the Burial Sites

14) Unfinished Business
A) Waikahekahe Nui and Iki Aupua'a
1) Present a timeline of the history, regarding archaeological studies (or lack of) conducted on the Cultural Preservation Site (Rosendahl)
2)Present outlined information taken from the September 2024 Archaeological Report, regarding the Cultural Preservation Site (ASM)
3) Take Owner/Member questions and engage in Discussion, regarding the timeline history (Rosendahl) and currently published archaeological report (ASM)
B) Present some of the efforts (HPPOA, the County, State) that are currently being utilized to proactively protect Hawaiian Historical and Cultural sites and  educate residents (not just in HPP) regarding the importance of preserving these sites.
1) Take Owner/Member questions and engage in discussion regarding proactive protection and the need for education, regarding Hawaiian Historical/Cultural sites
C) Introduce the Cultural Preservation Committee
1) Discussion their purpose, work so far, and what their goals are for the future
2) Take Owner/Member questions and engage in discussion, regarding the CPC effort
3) Invite interested persons to attend CPC meetings as a guest, or sign-up to be a member of the Committee.
**(I have always found the CPC chair to be gracious and welcoming of either)

Thoughts?

I am suggesting this, because there has been so much misinformation and fighting about these topics. An owner/member meeting, where people can actually see one another, face to face, share accurate info,  discuss, and work on possible solutions, could prove beneficial.

Please pass this on and try (if can) to be at the meeting. Words are one thing, but action says a a lot more.

[Rob Tucker]

Doesn't HPP have a website of its own?

[TomK]

Doesn't HPP  have a website of its own?

Not sure it does in the traditional sense, at least not anymore. I found these, and they become more dysfunctional as you go down the list:

https://hawaiianparadisepark.com/

http://www.hppoa.net/

https://hppowner.com/

There are others you can search for. Maybe the best solution is to add an HPP forum so people can rant away there, and those of us not so interested don't get the noise here.

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Attached you will find the agenda, blah..

So, I ask you Owners/Members, Which is more important?

None of the above.

[TomK]

This is my idea for an agenda, starting with 12, which I have changed to Community Resource Report

12) Community Resource Report (Judi Houle)

13) Special Order of Business
a) Keoni Alvarez will present information regarding the Burial sites near 16th and Makuu
b)Take Owner/Member questions and engage in discussion, regarding Keoni's information and the Burial Sites

14) Unfinished Business
A) Waikahekahe Nui and Iki Aupua'a
1) Present a timeline of the history, regarding archaeological studies (or lack of) conducted on the Cultural Preservation Site (Rosendahl)
2)Present outlined information taken from the September 2024 Archaeological Report, regarding the Cultural Preservation Site (ASM)
3) Take Owner/Member questions and engage in Discussion, regarding the timeline history (Rosendahl) and currently published archaeological report (ASM)
B) Present some of the efforts (HPPOA, the County, State) that are currently being utilized to proactively protect Hawaiian Historical and Cultural sites and  educate residents (not just in HPP) regarding the importance of preserving these sites.
1) Take Owner/Member questions and engage in discussion regarding proactive protection and the need for education, regarding Hawaiian Historical/Cultural sites
C) Introduce the Cultural Preservation Committee
1) Discussion their purpose, work so far, and what their goals are for the future
2) Take Owner/Member questions and engage in discussion, regarding the CPC effort
3) Invite interested persons to attend CPC meetings as a guest, or sign-up to be a member of the Committee.
**(I have always found the CPC chair to be gracious and welcoming of either)

Thoughts?

I suspect you will bore people to death if this happens. Most of us are busy making a living and doing other things. Good luck making it happen.

[Punatang]

Doesn't HPP  have a website of its own?

Is it still OK to talk about the new house prices?

[leilanidude]

My HPP solution:
Block off the area around the burial site.
Build the mailbox cluster.
Stop arguing.

[HiloJulie]

I can't think of any corporation, association, foundation, etc., that has an elected Board of Directors (BOD) where ANYONE NOT elected to that BOD can make up their own agenda.

Having said that, this type of "they are always wrong, I am always right" game will always be played when you have an association made up of each lot owner having a vote and less than 10 percent of those eligible votes are ever cast.

[Patricia]

So far, the comments I have seen regarding this post, are the same comments I have seen before.
For some reason, some people seem to think everything is about mailboxes. Mailboxes were not mentioned in the post. And at this point I could care less about them. Build them, don't build them- whatever. They are going to become a problem and eventually cost everyone more money after a while- be realistic. They are tucked away, on unlighted roads (and yeah, I know they will have solar powered lighting). They will be an attractive nuisance and will definitely be anything but free. But have at it. Maybe the court (or Watumull's) won't want them all removed after the trial in January.
As for "boring." A lot of topics can be boring- especially if you have no interest in them. And while the HPPOA board may have voted to spend money on an archaeological survey- believe me, most are not interested in what it says or have even thought about it much. The cultural site(s) have never been of much interest to HPPOA. Because the sites just get in their way and are a headache for them.
Spending three owner/member meetings on "bylaw revisions" is worse than boring. Three meetings is a year's worth of Owner/member meetings. Meetings for which, Owners/members are supposed to be able to submit agenda items, chair, and conduct business they see relevant. Unfortunately, our current board president has decided otherwise, and has made it her "job" to run the show, pushing through, literally, her agenda which has filled Owner/member meeting time with hours of bylaw revisions that have been hurriedly rushed through and are presented not according to required format. Making them difficult for some Owners/members to actually understand or know what they are voting on. And the only reason any of this is happening is because the board president wanted to adopt a law which does not apply (421J) and now wants to try to make HPPOA "fit" that law by changing the bylaws. And all of this could be a huge waste of time and moot if HPPOA loses the lawsuit.
All of the above is why, if you go through the search function on this platform, you will see pages of HPPOA posts that are as old as Punaweb. All of the above is why there is fighting, misinformation, and down-right ugliness, regarding HPPOA, on other social media platforms.
HPP Owners/members pay mandatory road fee money which funds just about everything HPPOA does- even though mandatory road fee money is restricted. This mandatory road fee money adds up to more than $3.5 MILLION every year and does not even take into account the several hundred dollars HPPOA collects in "transfer fees" for EACH property that is sold or resold in HPP (think about that).
HPP Owners/members are supposed to have a say. Owners/members are supposed to be able to ask questions, discuss, get answers. And three times a year, is not a lot to ask in exchange for MILLIONS of dollars.
But as long as the apathy and "divide and ignore" attitude prevail. HPPOA is just going to run rogue, bulldoze over Owner/Members rights, force their governance and forced membership down owners throats, and use road fee money for whatever project they see fit. Still, I guess if the majority of HPP Owners/members don't care? Feel that's okay? Then they deserve what they get. But others like myself? We are pissed about it.
Sitting down, being quiet, and ignoring what is going on is apathetic sabotage. And by the time some of the majority feel it IS time to "argue" it will be too late.

[MyManao]

So far..

Let's hope those that fill obscure forums with nonsense are held to account..

[HiloJulie]

HPP Owners/members are supposed to have a say. Owners/members are supposed to be able to ask questions, discuss, get answers. And three times a year, is not a lot to ask in exchange for MILLIONS of dollars.
But as long as the apathy and "divide and ignore" attitude prevail. HPPOA is just going to run rogue, bulldoze over Owner/Members rights, force their governance and forced membership down owners throats, and use road fee money for whatever project they see fit. Still, I guess if the majority of HPP Owners/members don't care? Feel that's okay? Then they deserve what they get. But others like myself? We are pissed about it.
Sitting down, being quiet, and ignoring what is going on is apathetic sabotage. And by the time some of the majority feel it IS time to "argue" it will be too late.

Question:

In the history of HPP, HPPOA and its predecessor, has ANY BOD member been elected with more than 500 votes? 250 votes? 100 votes?

Out of a possible 8,000 plus potential votes?

Therin lies the never ending problem.