Comm No 0035.30 - Testimony - CA-18 - PONC Maintenance fund

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Doug Sensenig 40 Waimea, HI 96743 dougsensenig [? n aiT.corn Testimony before the Charter Commission April 25, 2019 Re: CA18 I'm Doug Sensenig of Waimea. I am a former attorney and have been involved in land conservation since the late 198o's as an attorney, volunteer, and as an executive director of two land trusts. Thank you all for the hard work you've been doing in the effort to improve the Charter. And another thank -you to Debbie Hecht and Brenda Ford for their dedication to this island and this community, evidenced by their passion to continuously improve the operation of the 2% Land Fund and the Maintenance Fund. Partially through their care and desire for continuous improvement, the 2% Fund has enjoyed massive support from the voters of Hawaii Island, even through difficult economic times. I'm here to urge you to approve the proposed change to CA -18 that allows the Maintenance Fund to provide money to pay people for the stewardship of lands protected by the Fund. As you probably know, only 9% of all monies in the Maintenance Fund were awarded to stewardship non -profits in the last 6 years. The stewardship non -profits have not been able to keep up with the work that needs to be done. A full-time staff person in addition to existing PONC staff can facilitate and coordinate stewardship efforts, as well as leverage community involvement. The 2% land fund contemplates PERMANENT protection of exceptional land for the benefit of the people of Hawaii Island. That permanence requires different thinking about how the protected land is to be managed. We have all heard the refrain, "The County can't manage the land it already has - how can we protect more?" It's a good question, and proposed amendment CA -18 helps solve the problem. As someone who's been involved in land conservation for some time, I can tell you that stewardship can mean much more than picking up trash and removing invasives. At its best, stewardship means involving the community in caring for the land in a virtuous cycle that brings Comm. No. 35.30