Kai Kahele, recently appointed by Gov. David Ige to fill the Hilo state Senate seat of his late father, Sen. Gil Kahele, holds a low-cost state land lease for oceanview property in West Hawaii that is legally required to be
Kai Kahele, recently appointed by Gov. David Ige to fill the Hilo state Senate seat of his late father, Sen. Gil Kahele, holds a low-cost state land lease for oceanview property in West Hawaii that is legally required to be his primary residence.
But Kahele, 41, instead listed the Keneki Place, Hilo, home he now co-owns with his mother as his residence when he entered his name for consideration for the nomination to the seat vacated by his father’s passing.
State law regarding appointments to empty state Senate seats dictates that, “the appointee shall, at the time of appointment, be a resident of the same Senate district as the prior incumbent.”
Kahele on July 20, 2011, paid $35,000 for assignment of a Milolii lease from Sally Kahikinaokala Dacalio. He is required to pay $132 annual rent as a condition of the lease, according to documents obtained by West Hawaii Today.
The 65-year lease, expiring in 2059, must be used “solely for residential purposes as the lessee’s principle domicile,” according to a two-page agreement approved by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Sept. 9, 2011.
Kahele, questioned about the discrepancy Thursday, said he was unaware of the residency requirements of the lease until pointed out by the newspaper.
“The matter was handled informally without legal advisers,” Kahele said in an emailed response late Thursday. “Since I became aware of the terms of the lease, I have contacted DLNR for the purpose of addressing the situation. I am hopeful and confident that I will be able to resolve this matter with DLNR in the near future.”
Hawaii County Democratic Party Chairman Phil Barnes said candidates for the Senate appointment had to be Democrats and had to live in the Senate district. In addition, he said, they had to submit five signatures from other registered Democrats also living in the district.
“It was checked, sure,” Barnes said Thursday.
“I live in the First Senatorial District – Hilo,” Kahele added. “In 2012, I moved to Hilo and have resided in Hilo continuously from that time. At that time, my parents and I agreed to take out a mortgage to remodel their house to allow me and my family to live there. Since 2012, I have continuously had the residence in Hilo as my primary residence and have used that residence for all purposes, including voter registration.”
Kahele said he was approached by extended family with a request to assume his aunt’s lease on the Milolii property.
”My aunt was in poor health and her family was afraid that the lease would be lost by our family. Under those circumstances, I agreed to pay off my aunt’s mortgage and assume the lease with DLNR,” he added.
The 10,000-square-foot lot with a 936-square-foot house on Milolii Road has a market value at $120,000. The taxes of $1,302 annually on the Milolii property are current, with the tax bills sent to Kahele’s Hilo address.
The long-term leases in Milolii, created by the Legislature in 1982, authorized DLNR to enter leases with persons residing in Milolii who were disposed or displaced as a result of the 1926 volcanic eruption of Mauna Loa, according to DLNR.
DLNR spokesman Dan Dennison, quoting an identified DLNR Land Division official, said the lease contains a breach provision.
“If a lessee violates a condition of the lease, we can issue a notice of default. If the lessee does not timely cure (usually within 30 or 60 days), we can take the lease to the board for termination,” Dennison’s email said. “It’s in the Board of Land and Natural Resources’ hands at that point.”
Just before taking over the Milolii lease, Kahele was given joint tenancy in his mother and father’s Keneki Place home through a Jan. 11, 2011, quitclaim deed.
In September of that year, the family added a $63,000 addition to the home, adding a two-car garage, storage room and breezeway to the home, which already had a detached 840-square-foot garage, according to county property tax records.
The 3,424-square-foot house on 1 acre is valued at $438,100.
Kahele lives in Hilo with his wife, Maria, and two children, but he retains an interest in the Milolii area where his father grew up. He’s the president and executive director of Paa Pono Milolii, a community support group. On its website, he describes himself as “a part-time Milolii resident, he resides in Hilo.”
Kahele is also sponsoring SB 3071, introduced by his father, directing the state to purchase about 6,000 acres at Kapua Bay, just south of Milolii. The plan would include incorporating the land into the South Kona Wilderness Area, which the senior Kahele helped create.
The measure calls for money from the state’s transient accommodations tax to purchase the land.
The senior Kahele died Jan. 26 at age 73. Kahele beat out two other nominees — former Lyman Museum executive director Dolly Strazar, whose experience includes serving multiple positions for the Democratic Party of Hawaii, and county Office of Housing and Development Division Chief Kaloa Robinson, who worked for years in Washington, D.C., including as a special assistant to former Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
