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Attachment B for the 2023 PONC Suggestion Form bikes to school, kupuna gather on streamside benches,families walk dogs and push strollers, and visitors discover plants, landscapes, and vistas that speak to our deep sense of place and purpose in Hawaii nei. Time is of the essence for our application because the County of Hawaii is currently in negotiations with Parker Ranch to purchase an easement and has applied for matching funds from a RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity)grant to partially fund the acquisition of the first five mile extension of the Trail towards 'Ouli Park. With our pending application for RAISE funds for the five mile extension from Waimea's Church Row to 'Ouli Park, we believe that Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resource Preservation Commission ("PONC")funding is critical to ensure that we have the monies required to complete the five mile extension and, hopefully, start to make headway toward our larger expansion goal.The combined power of the RAISE and the PONC funding would enable us to make significant progress on the Trail extension, acquiring additional easements and/or parcels on the remaining eight mile extension as they become available. We also intend to seek additional matching funds from Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) floodplain grants for the project.This investment in public greenspace is particularly important in the face of current and future development plans, which would increase housing density, as well as traffic congestion, in the area. Please refer to Table 4.1 Current and Future Development in Chapter 4:Waimea Town Plan of the South Kohala Community Development Plan for examples of these area development plans. PONC funding is vital to ensure the Trail extension is in place before any proposed wide-spread development takes place; development that would make it harder to acquire easements or land from multiple homeowners after the fact. PONC maintenance funds would ensure that our community can continue to properly steward and care for the Trail as we have been for almost 30 years.. The proposed Trail extension will benefit the public by creating a vital greenway corridor that allows for a variety of non-vehicular recreational opportunities, including walking, running, bike riding, birding, and outdoor gathering for residents and visitors to South Kohala. • It will provide a safe, non-vehicular thoroughfare connecting neighborhoods, farmers markets, schools, libraries, and parks. Once completed,this Trail would connect the National Park's Ala Kahakai Trail to the Waimea-to-Puako portion of the King's Trail and increase the small trail inventory for the island. • The proposed trail expansion protects and celebrates the verdant Waimea landscapes by creating intentional, planned, cared for, open-spaces along intermittent streams and floodplains, where residents and visitors can walk, bike, sit, read, explore nature, and dream. • The proposed trail expansion strengthens our community by bringing residents from diverse backgrounds and experiences together in a central, healthy, outdoor 2