Comm No 0035.38 - Testimony - CA-18 - PONC Maintenance fund

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• Right now there is one staff member provided in the Hawaii County Code to assist the Public Access and Open Space Commission. This is a necessary position. Our language says that this staff member will be in addition to the existing staff member. Otherwise we may be paying for at lease two "STAFF" positions, but potentially more than that! Salary, wages and benefits would be more than $100,000 per year coming out of the monies that are right now slated for acquisition. THE IMPORTANCE OF ONE STAFF MEMBER TO WORK ONLY on the 2% Land Fund program: • Real estate deals are time sensitive and require willing sellers. Willing sellers want to be paid as soon as possible because the taxes keep mounting up on property and they may have a use for the money. It also takes time for the staff people to apply for matching funds, get appraisals, do surveys and all the due diligence required for property purchases by governments. • The Maintenance Fund grants have been granted to only 6 organizations in the 6 -year existence of the fund. The stewardship non-profit groups have received only 9% of all the money deposited in the Maintenance Fund from 2013. Stewardship groups say the process has been very difficult and they have had to apply several times before receiving funding. A full time staff person can assist the non -profits with getting the funding they need to care for the 2% Lands. 3. STAFF MEMBER TO ASSIST THE PONC COMMISSION -It's important to ALSO have the staff member assist the commission so that the Land Specialist so that the time can be spent with the above duties and not with commission agendas, submissions for land acquisitions and work with the non- profits paperwork. CA -18 The MAINTENANCE FUND- Mahalo to Commissioner Rice who has accomplished so much for the Maintenance Fund! Council member Brenda Ford and I wrote this amendment in 2012 (approved by 63% of voters), because over and over we heard," Why should we save more land the county doesn't take care of what we have now?" All volunteer community groups were formed around caring for these lands because they county wasn't maintaining them. They formed non-profit 501c3 organizations. They elected Boards. In rural areas with small populations many of the Board members were also the workers on the land. Several hard working board members resigned so they could be paid to work on the land by the Stewardship Grants. How does it empower these groups if you limit the scope of what valuable people can do? Only 9% of all the money deposited in the Maintenance Fund has been granted to these non -profits. It was our intent to empower and strengthen the good works of these kuleana community groups. That hasn't happened, which is why we are proposing a full time staff person to help expedite and process grant proposals and also that the non -profits can pay people to work on the land. All of the groups that have received funding are requesting that they are able to pay people to work on the land. This will enable them to continue their good work in caring for the 2% lands. Commissioner Rice is assisting us in this request to empower and enable the Stewardship Non- profits to do their good work. PLEASE APPROVE THIS LANGUAGE: 2