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OHA board authorizes immediate Kaʻu relief after Hurricane Lala, delegates rapid deployment
Summary
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs on Aug. 17 authorized redeployment of carryover emergency funds, gift cards and a Home Depot credit to provide immediate relief in Kaʻu after Hurricane Lala, and delegated implementation and reporting authority to the administrator.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees on Aug. 17 voted to redeploy existing emergency carryover funds and gift‑card resources to provide immediate relief to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries in the Kaʻu district after Hurricane Lala.
Chair Merida read a motion authorizing the immediate carryover and redeployment of $184,511.43 in remaining encumbered EOLA emergency aid funds, the use of 244 Foodland gift cards ($350 each) and 218 KTA gift cards ($175 each) totaling $123,550, and the use of the remaining Ina Kokua Home Depot gift‑card balance (reported as $30,000) to meet urgent needs in Kaʻu. The motion directs that “priority shall be given to the Kaʻu region including Pāhala, Nā‘ālehu, Waihīnu and surrounding affected communities.”
Summer Silva, interim chief administrator, told trustees the administration had proposed a phased approach to relief: an immediate stabilization tranche using flexible cash and gift cards, a second phase of targeted recovery via direct disaster aid grants, and a third phase for ongoing sustainability. Silva said the immediately available packages of carryover funds and gift cards "aggregate[d] to approximately $335,000," and asked the board to give staff operational flexibility with guardrails so funds could move quickly.
Trustees discussed scope, verification and accountability procedures and asked staff to streamline documentation where disaster conditions had displaced records. The motion delegates to the administrator, in consultation with general counsel and the chief financial officer, authority to determine applicant eligibility within the funding authorized and to establish expedited application, verification and dispersal procedures while maintaining monitoring and recordkeeping.
The board voted by roll call; the motion passed with nine affirmative votes. Trustees directed the administration to provide timely sitreps and an accounting of awards, expenditures, remaining balances and geographic distribution.
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