2006-03-16 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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4. APPROVAL OF ADDENDUM AND /OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA There were no addendums to the agenda. 5. PRESENTATION BY FINANCE DEPARTMENT REGARDING LAND OWNED BY COUNTY OF HAWAII Ms. Garson introduced Nancy Crawford and Dixie Kaetsu. Ms. Kaetsu stated that though she was an ex officio member, she would not always be able to attend the meetings, and she hoped the Commission's vacant positions could be filled soon. Ms. Crawford stated that she is the deputy director of the Finance Department, and she handed out to the commissioners a list of County -owned lands. She also had one copy of a land inventory which listed all County property, including easements, parks, cemeteries, gyms, drainage improvements, and roadways. She could make this document available if requested. Ms. Crawford stated that most of the County's lands were acquired in 1994 in lieu of taxes owed when Hamakua Sugar went under. The County received the lands as settlement in lieu of property tax. Because the County received the land this way, it did not have a specific use for it, and it is not particularly well suited for other uses. Thus, the County felt it appropriate to sell the land and bring the proceeds back into the General Fund. She stated that the first property on the list has highway frontage, and the County is currently surveying about 140 acres for County use. It is anticipated that the County will eventually have a highway baseyard, a volunteer fire station, and other uses for that land. Other properties in Paauilo and Hamakua are to be sold. There is a large, over 2,000 -acre parcel in Kaupulena, between Honokaa and Waipio, which may be of interest to people, though it is overgrown with trees. The process of selling the land moves slowly, as no employee is dedicated just to that job. The County is in the process of creating a property management section to help with this, and also to deal with the requirements of the Public Access /Open Space Commission. Total sales between December, 2000, and last October netted a little over $3,000,000. The total included land sold in Hamakua, as well as the Civil Service office building and a small geothermal property. They were getting ready to auction off all the Paauilo Mauka properties when they became aware of a requirement to have environmental assessments done, and these don't happen quickly. They are contracting with a company to do the assessments. They are not yet trying to sell the top property on the list, as they are trying to carve out a portion for the County. However, the remaining Paauilo Mauka lands are to be auctioned off some time after July 1, pending the assessments. n