Status: Pending Board Approval

Board Chair Susan Doyle called the meeting to order at 5:54 pm.

Lillian Hong commented that she feels there is a mis-perception of ‘Olelo in the community with regards to the cost of productions. Some producers get paid large amounts, some get paid small stipends, while others do community productions for free. Specifically, she noted users/speakers during the election season may be confused about how they might access ‘Olelo’s services.
Lurline responded that she is aware that on occasion producers are reimbursed for their time, and that this is not problematic. It becomes a problem when people start asking for large amounts of money and try to be entrepreneurial using ‘Olelo’s resources. Staff can follow up to determine if resources are being misused if Lillian is able to provide more specific information.
Lillian further commented that she has a program running on campaign reform that shows a confused discussion about whether or not ‘Olelo’s services cost money or use volunteers. She added that she felt that ‘Olelo was not represented well in this program.
The board agreed to look into the matter.

II. Old Business

The board unanimously approved the minutes of the October 27, 1999 Board of Directors Meeting.

A. Chair's Report


Susan Doyle stated that her main item of business is to name a nominating committee to suggest a replacement for departing board member Robbie Alm. She went on to name Linda Colburn as Chair of the nominating committee, and asked Gary Honda and Robbie Alm to serve on the committee as well.

B. President's Report



Lurline mentioned that ‘Ölelo is hosting a volunteer recognition party on December 18, 6:30 p.m. at the East-West Center. Board members are invited to attend. Lurline also reported that the one-year pilot project with the Governor’s office has been discontinued due to the Governor’s office lacking funds to sustain the program. In the meantime, producer Paul Nishijima, who produced the program for the Governor’s office, has been awarded space by the Department of Transportation and has a six-month contract with them to create public information programming for various state offices and agencies. Paul is also continuing to pursue other options for providing coverage of executive branch activity. He is anticipating that by next June, a longer-term agreement with a government agency - DOT or otherwise - will be made so that the program will be on-going.

Bob Mougeot inquired about the terms of the equipment use agreement, to which Lurline responded that the producer is continuing to use the ‘Ölelo production equipment that was set up for the Governor’s office, and added that under this six month contract, the producer gets paid by the agency he is creating program for through the Department of Transportation. The program, entitled “The State At Work,” provides public information about different State agencies and issues of concern to the community. Bob additionally asked if we have a formal agreement or letter for equipment use on this project, to which Lurline confirmed that ‘Ölelo has an agreement with the Department of Transportation, not the producer.

Joseph Lapililo commented that he felt that the Wai‘anae board meeting was an excellent forum.

Susan noted her appreciation that the meeting minutes reflected this, and added that we are moving toward more descriptive meeting minutes.

Susan wanted to confirm that we are planning to conduct a future board meeting at the Kahuku Media Center, to which Lurline responded affirmatively.





C. Strategic Planning Committee Report


Joseph Lapilio noted that the Wai’anae Media Center board meeting was the first time the strategic plan survey was distributed. He also noted that the Access Services Advisory Committee has been useful in developing other ways to involve the community. The Strategic Planning Committee is developing indicators for the five goals outlined in the strategic plan document. More meetings and presentations are being planned for different communities, and focus groups will be conducted to gain further community input on the strategic plan. The report will be ready to present at the end of June, 2000.

Bob asked for clarification on how the goal of “promoting services and programs that are relevant to the community” would be measured. Joseph replied that a measurement has yet to be finalized, and added that ideally both quantity and quality will be measured. He further explained that it will really depend on what priorities the communities define. Joseph noted that in January the Strategic Planning Committee will assess the input received and determine what else we should do to make sure that we get more input for consideration. Bob asked about staff involvement on the Strategic Planning Committee, to which Lurline replied that she was involved in the strategic planning and other staff is involved in organizing community meetings. Lurline noted that staff came up with a list of community agencies and organizations to approach, and as a means of conducting outreach, they will be giving presentations and soliciting feedback on our strategic planning questionnaire, which will also be helpful in creating a statistical profile of the different communities. Susan wanted confirmation that the `Ölelo Web site is being used to in our strategic planning effort, to which staff responded that the questionnaire is available on the Web site.





D. Program Committee Report


Gary was not present to report but Lurline reported that ASAC members continue to identify as a priority the need for additional edit bay capacity, by either expanding hours or adding a bay. In response to this, the Media Center and CPMs are conducting a client evaluation to identify use trends and needs. Questions include whether clients are able to get into the bays when they need them, how many edit sessions they need to complete a program, and would they like assistance editing. Additionally, we’ve temporarily opened the edit bays on Sunday evenings to see how much interest there is in having those additional hours on a permanent basis.


D. Finance Committee Report


Dee asked Lurline to present her report since she was home sick. Lurline began with noting that ‘Olelo will begin adhering to its capitalization policy of itemizing capital purchases with a minimum value of $500 each. In the past, a number of related items, with individual replacement value less than $500, but with a combined value of $500 or more, were bundled together and capitalized. The change in policy is to streamline the accounting and inventory process per our auditor’s suggestion. Lurline reported that the board packet contains the draft 2000 operating budget and financial statements to date. The 2000 operating budget is based on the 1999 franchise revenue figures, and is subject to change once the actual franchise fee amount is sent in January. Significant changes in the 2000 budget include zeroed-out program incentive, discretionary, and board set-aside funds. (The program incentive which was appropriated by the Board earlier in the year, has not expended in 1999 and has been carried over to the next fiscal period.) Again, this may change once the franchise fees for the year have been received. The budget also reflects an increase in public relations funding to support the launch of several new services as part of the 10-year anniversary celebration slated for next year.

Lurline also pointed out that this budget includes HENC’s request that they be awarded funds based on the unaudited financials of the previous year rather than the audited amount of two years prior. That means their award would be adjusted mid-year, when we receive the audited revenue amounts from Oceanic. Earlier this year the Board chose to defer their decision on this change until they had an opportunity to review the final report at the end of January, 2000. In order to keep options open in the event that the Board approves the change next year, Lurline recommended that we include the request at this time. Lurline also noted that 1998 funding would be eliminated if we move from a 1997 base to 1999 base. 1998 funds were approximately $65,000 higher than 1997. She therefore recommended that ‘Olelo pay this difference from the 1999 budget since we have enough surplus funds to cover the amount.

Bob inquired about the payment schedule for HENC, to which Lurline responded that per our contract with HENC, they assign the payment schedule to the grant recipient. This past year the payment was divided into two, with the first check being paid out in January and the second in mid-summer. Bob further asked how the impact or success of these awarded grants is being assessed. Lurline responded that the year-end report is supposed to describe what’s happened during the year and the impact it has had and in the meantime has no information to pass on to the Board.

Susan noted that the arrangement is still in an experimental stage. ‘Ölelo is moving forward on assumed good intent and trust.

Bob reminded members that the Board has a responsibility to account for these funds and to see that dollars are well spent. If there is any gray area in our ability to do this, it must be made known. He suggested that we ask for quarterly reports on benchmarks to allow us to take quick corrective action if required. Lurline noted that HENC is required only to submit a mid-year and annual report.

Susan stated that the agreement between ‘Ölelo and HENC allows us to review the contract on an annual basis, however we have little ability to require an accounting of funds. Linda asked if there any way to seek some reporting to identify a pattern of expenses that reflect the narrative reports. Lurline explained that while we can request reporting, HENC has thus far not demonstrated a willingness to entertain our requests or any other discussion with us unless it is for information specifically included in the contract.

Susan noted that ultimately, the responsibility falls to this board to determine if this is a satisfactory arrangement. Perhaps we need to fold some of this discussion on this matter into the strategic planning efforts.

Linda asked how we can we be sure that the RFPs have been well-designed and are being monitored appropriately. Lurline stated that this issue and others were raised as part of ‘Ölelo’s response to HENC’s mid-year report. At this stage, we have to wait and see how the rest of the year turns out.

Bob asked what the average size of a grant is. Lurline responded that generally, UH and DOE have each received approximately $344,000 and HAIS and EWC got smaller grants in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.

Bob asked for examples of whether money is being used for things other than direct programming. Lurline responded that according to the educational agreements she has received, funds are being used for a variety of non-programming purposes, including purchasing equipment, building studios, installing and maintaining playback facilities. She agreed with his concern about the use of ‘Ölelo’s money and whether it was intended to create infrastructure, which would then require its own ongoing funding needs, including staffing and maintenance. She noted that ‘Ölelo funds seem to be often combined with funds from other sources. She said that the contracts are very general and have not included any line item budgets, outcomes, evaluation tools or future plans. She does not know if that’s because HENC did not request that information in their RFPs or if they removed it from what was forwarded to ‘Ölelo.

Susan wrapped up by saying that there were many questions yet to be answered, specifically around evaluations, levels of accountability and how these fit with ‘ lelo’s goals. She added that because of the complex history of the situation, a background session for new members would also be useful. She suggested the Executive Committee take up this topic.

Lurline then continued with other Finance Committee business, noting that the development of an accounting and personnel policies and procedures manual is underway. She also noted that the roll over to the new pension plan provider is going well, with one-third of staff signed up, and a deadline of December 14 for remaining signs ups to be completed.

Staff then placed a conference/intercom call to Dee.

Bob moved to adopt the year 2000 draft operating budget. Joe Lapilio seconded. The Board unanimously approved the budget.

Bob moved to approve the October 27, 1999 minutes. Joseph Lapilio seconded. The Board unanimously approved the October 27, 1999 minutes.

Joseph Lapilio moved to appoint a nominating committee to find a candidate to fill the vacancy treated by Robbie Alm’s departure, with Linda Colburn as Nominating Committee Chair, and Robbie Alm and Gary Honda as members. Seconded by Bob.
The Board unanimously approved the motion.

Meeting adjourned by Susan Doyle at 6:40 p.m.


Respectfully submitted,



Linda M. Colburn, Secretary