The Budget Committee resumed to hear the Department of Enterprise Services’ (DES) FY26 presentation, where Director Dita Hollyfield said DES is seeking a flat operating budget of $30,480,000, projected revenue gains, and several CIP projects aimed at safety, accessibility and infrastructure upgrades.

The briefing matters because DES operates revenue‑generating city assets — auditoriums, municipal golf courses, the Honolulu Zoo and concessions — and its CIP and contract decisions affect tourism, recreation and city revenues.

DES said its operating budget request remains essentially unchanged year‑to‑year, funded from dedicated special funds for golf, auditoriums and zoo operations. The department requested $562,400 in equipment (a 52.7% increase) to replace aging golf course mowers, rollers and other items, and sought $14,300,000 in CIP funding for projects including concert‑hall front‑of‑house work, golf irrigation replacement and zoo upgrades.

Director Hollyfield highlighted several CIP and project requests: a $6.6 million front‑of‑house phase 2 for the Neil S. Blaisdell concert hall to complete ADA, plumbing and lobby upgrades; roughly $3.18 million for municipal golf (including $3.0 million to convert Ala Wai irrigation to non‑potable water); and multiple Honolulu Zoo requests — $400,000 for design of a Hawaii Islands exhibit, $1,585,000 for exhibit and infrastructure improvements, and $2,410,000 to construct a new animal holding facility adjacent to the veterinary clinic.

On operations and revenues, DES reported projected revenue growth of $1,000,400 for FY26. The auditoriums division expects higher receipts from the reopening of the Tom Moffitt Waikiki Shell and the Blaisdell concert hall; the golf division projects an 11.3% increase (about $1,270,000) based on intensified marketing and digital campaigns that drove strong recent weekly revenues at Muckalena (a single week produced $77,000). The zoo expects modest increases tied to a new concessions contract that will add online ticketing.

Hollyfield told the committee DES had 41 vacancies as of February 1; the department said it had filled 13 of those and planned to reorganize or reallocate 10 before filling, with 13 of the remaining 28 to be filled by July 1 and the rest in FY26. Overtime requests total $363,500 to maintain seven‑day coverage and holiday staffing.

The committee asked DES about strategies to grow revenues. Hollyfield described a suite of marketing tools — digital ads, geofencing, keyword buys and a radio program — and a proposed revision to the venue rental fee structure to create tiered pricing that can attract larger promoters and better acts. She also described a concessions pilot that, if approved by purchasing and administration, would allow DES to prioritize a set of concessions for expedited, longer‑term contracts (she said the department is pursuing three‑ to ten‑year arrangements in some cases) and to award certain concessions with more direct sign‑off to speed solicitations.

Council members pressed about specific items: safety and ADA repairs at the Blaisdell (including an estimated $300,000 cost discussed for a replaced basketball court), the timetable for new golf equipment (roughly six months after purchase), and zoo water and enclosure repairs tied to USDA and AZA standards. Hollyfield said she will travel to AZA meetings and continues to coordinate work sequencing with the Department of Design and Construction to minimize disruptions to operations.

DES presented no formal motions or votes; the department’s CIP and operating requests will be considered in the broader FY26 budget process.

For evidence on specific line items, DES identified the equipment request ($562,400), the Blaisdell front‑of‑house $6,600,000 request, the golf Ala Wai irrigation $3,000,000 request within a $3.18 million golf CIP request, the zoo design and construction figures, and projected revenue and vacancy figures listed above.