Committee forwards Lokelani Brandt to PONC; members press for more meetings and virtual access

The Hawaii County Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs voted to forward Lokelani Brandt’s nomination to the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (PONC) to the full council with a favorable recommendation.

Micah Alameda, the mayor’s executive assistant, presented Brandt as a District 3 nominee and said the term, if confirmed, would expire Dec. 31, 2028. Alameda described Brandt’s background in historic preservation and community work across the island and said her local knowledge of cultural sites would be an asset to the commission.

Brandt told the committee she is "really, excited and happy to be considered for the Pank [PONC] Commission," described 15 years of archaeology and ethnographic consultation with Native Hawaiian and island communities and said she wants to "advocate for protection of places, and more importantly, community involvement in stewardship." When asked about availability, Brandt said she had reviewed the schedule and noted one possible conflict: "There's only one date in May that may conflict with the conference that I am planning to attend. The conference is in Minnesota." She said she otherwise expects to attend regularly.

Council members pressed for attention to PONC scheduling and quorum. Council member Kirkowitz urged the mayor’s office to consider more frequent meetings or schedule changes to avoid backlogs, arguing that canceled meetings have delayed the commission’s work: "If there is a meeting that is scheduled and then canceled because they can't meet quorum... the recommendation report... got there a little later. We still haven't received it as a council." Alameda said he would follow up with the PONC team and noted the commission currently meets every other month (March, then May) and that the mayor’s office is working to move more boards and commissions to virtual platforms to improve participation, citing County Resolution 287-23 as direction the mayor’s office had already received.

With no public testimony and no further opposition, the clerk recorded six votes in favor; members Galimba, Inaba and Villegas were absent. The committee’s favorable recommendation forwards the nomination to the full council for final confirmation.

The committee also discussed the county’s effort to put more boards and commissions on Zoom to address quorum and accessibility challenges; Alameda said he is coordinating with department IT staff and department heads to identify infrastructure barriers and increase virtual access for boards such as PONC.