Bill Text: HI HCR76 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 76 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Waikiki; Securing a Site for Parade Storage and Setup

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-04 - (H) Referred to CUA, FIN, referral sheet 30 [HCR76 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2011-HCR76-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	76
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

convening a task force to identify and secure a site suitable for building floats, storing materials, and setting up displays for parades and major celebratory events.

WHEREAS, Hawaii's tourism industry has struggled to regain its strong foothold since the September 11 attacks and the recession; and

WHEREAS, in addition to working with traditional stakeholders such as the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association, the government may need to find more creative ways to revitalize tourism; and

WHEREAS, parades are a source of tourist attraction that, if properly invested in, may offer that sort of creative economic relief; and

WHEREAS, in addition to boosting visitor count, parade benefits may include raising revenue, creating jobs and new ventures, sharing our Aloha Spirit, and promoting Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, Oahu has been home to many famous and grand parades, including the Aloha Day, Pan Pacific, Kamehameha Day, Honolulu City Lights, Electric Light, and Honolulu Festival parades; and

WHEREAS, the 2005 Honolulu Festival and parade, which attracted many high-spending Japanese tourists with its offerings of hula and modern and Japanese dancing, was responsible for bringing in more than 6,000 visitors to Oahu and adding nearly $13 million to our economy as documented in a Honolulu Star-Bulletin editorial; and

WHEREAS, parade groups once enjoyed free rent for years at a warehouse at Pier 32 to build and store floats and equipment, but those groups were displaced to make way for Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines, which began service here in March 2005; and

WHEREAS, since a Honolulu parade can take up to a year to plan, and building floats can take about a month, one of the urgent challenges is to find a permanent structure, pier, or warehouse in town that is free of charge, where floats can be built, set up, and decorated, and materials can be stored; and

WHEREAS, veteran parade organizer Nelson Fujio, who has nearly 40 years of experience in staging parades and has earned several proclamations from the city and state in appreciation of his volunteer parade work, has pledged to oversee and maintain that permanent structure and site; and

WHEREAS, Fujio currently uses six Matson containers on state property outside Pier 1 to store parade materials and such, but that site does not protect Fujio's materials from the harsh elements, and his materials are currently getting wet and deteriorating; and

WHEREAS, while Fujio has reached out to various state agencies for assistance in securing another site, he cannot continue his volunteer parade work without a central storage site in town, between Ward Avenue and Sand Island; and

WHEREAS, an initial step would be the formation of a task force made up of state and city officials to identify a location where floats and various displays can be built, set up, and decorated, and parade materials can be stored; and

WHEREAS, while the site could be provided on private property and a grant or other funds could be used to rent the property, this endeavor can start off as a nonprofit or not-for-profit operation, and can be privatized; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the Senate concurring, that the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, with the cooperation of the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, is requested to convene a state-city task force to identify and secure a site suitable to build floats, store materials, and set up various displays for parades and major celebratory events; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force comprise officials from the State and City and County of Honolulu who are necessary to identify and plan for the securing of such a site, and include the participation of parade and celebratory event planners to the extent necessary to determine the needed characteristics of the site; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism report to the Legislature, no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012, the task force's findings and recommendations and progress in identifying and securing a location suitable to build floats, store materials and set up various displays for parades and major celebratory events; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Board of Directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority; Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; Executive Director for the City and County of Honolulu's Office of Economic Development; and Mr. Nelson Fujio.