Land swap could
aid 60 familiesPoamoho residents face eviction
unless some kind of deal is
worked out soon
The private trust that owns Poamoho Camp, where dozens of plantation workers face eviction in June, said it would consider trading more than 2,000 acres of its land in Central Oahu for property owned by the state.
Officials with the George Galbraith Trust said they would entertain a land swap with the state as long as the deal has favorable terms.
"It would make sense if the land swap puts us in an equal or a no-worse situation," said George Fillion, executive vice president of trust and banking at the Bank of Hawaii. The Bank of Hawaii is the sole trustee of the Galbraith Trust.
Last month, Del Monte Fresh Produce told Poamoho Camp's 60 families that they would have to vacate their plantation homes by June 9.
Del Monte, which leases 2,200 acres from the Galbraith Trust, said it would not renew its lease and would have to raze the residences, which have housed Del Monte employees, retirees and their family members for decades.
Earlier this year, state Reps. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa-Poamoho), Michael Magaoay (D, Schofield-Kahuku) and Marilyn Lee (D, Mililani-Mililani Mauka) introduced a bill calling for the Lingle administration to trade state land for Poamoho Camp and more than 2,100 acres of agricultural lands owned by the Galbraith Trust.
The land swap proposal is a replay of a scuttled 1994 deal in which the state offered to trade land in Kapolei for all of the trust's Central Oahu lands.
But the swap fell apart because some of the Galbraith lands were placed on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list of toxic sites.
Since then the EPA has removed the sites from the list.
Fillion said that the trust would like to work out a solution that avoids eviction for the families. But he noted that the matter is in Del Monte's hands.
Fillion said that as trustees of the Galbraith Trust, bank officials have a fiduciary duty to do what is best for the trust's beneficiaries.
Del Monte officials could not be reached for immediate comment.
Founded in 1904, the Galbraith Trust is a private trust set up for the beneficiaries of Irish cattle rancher George Galbraith. Galbraith came to Hawaii in the 1800s on his way to the California gold rush but ended up staying here and acquired the Central Oahu properties, according to a 1993 article in the now-defunct Hawaii Monitor newsletter.
Under Galbraith's will, the trust is set to expire in 2007. At that time the estate must liquidate all of its assets and divide the proceeds among its many beneficiaries, who are scattered throughout Hawaii, the mainland, Ireland and Australia.
The land swap proposal is one of several that have been proposed. Vaeleti Tyrell, president of the Poamoho Community Association, said residents have asked the landowner and Del Monte if they could continue renting until next year.
Tyrell, whose group plans to meet with state lawmakers and city officials this week, added that the community association also wants the option to buy their homes.
"Unfortunately, for the people of Poamoho, the clock is ticking," said Kathleen Masunaga, a member of the Wahiawa Neighborhood Board and a former Poamoho resident. "Unless somebody can hold the clock back or call a timeout, there will be some very unhappy people."