2008-02-11 Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission Minutes

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DISCUSSION WITH MAYOR HARRY HIM ON THE 2007 ANNUAL REPORT & PRIORITIZED LIST Mayor Harry Kim apologized to Ms. Hecht and Ms. Palma- Glennie for not being here earlier as he was not made aware that his presence was requested. In regards to the County's position, the procedures established was that the Commission makes their recommendations in the Annual Report to the Mayor which is then circulated to various County agencies for comments. These comments, if any, are then forwarded to Council. In regards to some recommendations within the Annual Report, the County's administrative responsibility is that of "fiscal responsibility" first. He commented that no one minds disagreements in regards to position of responsibility, it is important that everyone is cautious about accuracy. Mayor Kim elaborated on two properties in North Kona, `O`oma and Kohanaiki. In regards to Kohanaiki, there was no "bad guy," the community worked together with the developer as the County played the facilitator to come to a reasonable agreement. He emphasized that the people of Hawaii abused the property for years littering it with rubbish, abandoned vehicles, etc. The developers were willing to give the County of Hawaii 100 percent of the coastline and agreed to pay for 100 percent of the clean-up, toilets, roads, showers, camping grounds along with 1/3 of the maintenance costs of the area until it was turned over as a County park. He stated that from the first day of his administration, the County's goal was that fifteen miles of coastline in Kona would belong to the people in perpetuity. In the situation of `O`oma, the property owners are still in the planning process. They are working on how their development can change for the residents that live there. He expressed how elated he is that they've changed the whole concept of their design to include housing, pathways, walkways and a minimum of 1200 feet of coastline to accommodate the people. Mayor Kim then stressed on the tremendous maintenance problem the County has in regards to parks. As an example he spoke about Pohoiki which was an on -going project since 1991 and only recently had been completed. He told the Commission that he's obligated to follow the laws of the country and that they too will be faced with opposition and disappointments. It costs a lot of time and money and many hours of help from community volunteers. He then thanked the Commission for all their hard work and stressed that the County needs their help to do the work that the community wants them to do. Whether it is to clean, maintain, or restore the property, what good is ownership if you can't manage it. Ms. Garcia mentioned that the committee within the Commission is working on finding alternate funding sources as they have recognized the deficits. -3-