OHA operations manager requests safety program, facility upgrades and contract reviews for island offices

Operations Manager Royce Campbell briefed trustees on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs operations budget and infrastructure priorities, saying safety, standard operating procedures and improved maintenance are top goals for the upcoming biennium.

Campbell presented an operations budget he described as “a little bit above $8,200,000” for the biennium and said a substantial portion of that is overhead for building services, utilities and facility maintenance. He listed personnel, contract services, equipment and program costs and said his team is prioritizing a comprehensive safety program and site-specific emergency operating procedures for OHA's island offices.

“Currently I'm creating a safety handbook, an emergency preparedness handbook, and our operating emergency operation procedures book,” Campbell said. He described plans to standardize building access (single vendor for badge/scan systems across offices), expand staff safety certifications (CPR, OSHA-related trainings) and deploy a mass-notification/text system for emergencies.

Campbell flagged Molokai as a facility needing focused attention. He said Molokai’s monthly electric and janitorial charges are high relative to other island offices and that OHA is reviewing cleaning and facilities contracts and the facility’s participation in the building association. Campbell said some repair work — for example, floor replacement after water intrusion — is already under way.

Trustees pressed Campbell on specific overhead items: the agenda and budget worksheets list about $1,900,000 in rent for the main complex and $96,000 for off-site storage. Campbell said storage contains furniture, records and artifacts, and confirmed staff are preparing an inventory and disposal plan to reduce storage costs. He also noted an ongoing month-to-month arrangement with a facilities contractor and said the larger running-logistics contract expires in September 2025, allowing renegotiation.

Security and emergency preparedness were recurring topics. Trustees asked about the cost and coverage of on-site security, whether OHA will re-bid the current Aliʻi security contract that runs to the fall, and where security funding should be placed in the budget. Campbell said the operations budget includes $50,000 per year for on-site security and an additional $5,000 in the second year to cover special events.

Trustees and staff also raised building-specific issues that could require capital work. Trustee Kehel reported an estimate of roughly $450,000 for modernizing the building elevator — a figure presented during questioning about plans to relocate the third floor into the second-floor suite to free the third-floor space for revenue-generating tenancy. Campbell said a relocation cost estimate is pending and that he is collecting contractor quotes for necessary modifications.

Campbell said his team is also reviewing recurring expenses such as DOE parking charges (about $86,000 a year for staff parking stalls) and larger janitorial and facilities fees. He said telework policies could reduce parking costs and that he and other staff plan to renegotiate vendor agreements where possible.

Campbell closed by reiterating the need for strengthened SOPs, clearer disaster plans for each site, and a dedicated safety-and-facilities officer (a vacancy he said the division is actively recruiting for). Trustees asked Campbell to return with more detailed line-item breakdowns — including travel detail for in-state site visits — and a timeline for filling the safety role and completing the Molokai work.

No formal votes were taken during the presentation; trustees asked for follow-up estimates and contract detail for consideration in the broader biennium budget process.