COM 0548.000 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Tourism — Tourism has always been the major industry on the island. In addition to the mild climate and natural beauty it shares with other areas in the state, the County features the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. A popular attraction, the park is the most visited site in the state, handling over 2 million visitors annually, which became even more popular with the increased activity of Kilauea Volcano. Another indication of the County's slowly rebounding industry, is the fact that there was a 7% increase in the number of visitors to the island from the prior fiscal year. For the state overall, visitor arrivals have shown an amazing increase after the dismal performance in 2009, with visitor spending proving to be even more impressive. Construction — The County's second significant industry is construction, which appears to be a weakness for the island economy as seen in the negative growth of construction completed, lower building permits and losses in the industry's job total. Scientific Research and Development — Due largely to its unique geographic characteristics which has attracted scientists in fields of astronomy, meteorology, volcanology, and agriculture /aquaculture, the County has benefited economically by the significant investments made in scientific research. The total astronomy related capital investment on Mauna Kea exceeds $600 million and combined annual budgets are about $72 million. Astronomy continues to be a major factor in the success of the County's economy with an estimated nearly 500 new jobs opening up through 2023 to meet the needs of the current observatories and the creation of new jobs with the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) by the TMT Observatory Corporation. On July 21, 2009, the TMT Observatory Corporation announced that its board of directors had selected Mauna Kea over Chile as the preferred site for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the permit application was approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources in February 2011. It is projected that the TMT project will pour an estimated $1.2 billion into the economy over nine years, resulting in 300 construction jobs and 140 full -time permanent jobs. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i Authority at Keahole, Kona are also major contributors to international research and the local economy. Major Initiatives For the Year During the year, the County focused on construction projects relating to housing, sanitation and public safety, and other issues affecting the quality of life in the County. Public Safety — During the fiscal year, construction was completed on the building that houses the Pahoa Police Station and an office for the Vehicle Registration & Licensing Division of the Department of Finance and the adjoining Pahoa Fire Station. In August 2010, the Fire Department's new replacement rescue chopper was blessed and less than a year later, in May 2011, groundbreaking occurred for the new Makalei Fire Station in North Kona. 3