2008-04-14 Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission Minutes

Home

Mr. Yada noted that a preliminary title report was forwarded to Mr. Olson's representative and the County is still awaiting a response. A "yellow book appraisal" will need to be done meeting federal guidelines since the grant monies will be coming from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Mr. Campbell then asked what is going on with Puapua`a. Mr. Yada replied that there is no money right now since all the monies are earmarked for Kawa`a. Mr. Yada noted that the Council's response in not prioritizing the list is that once Kawa`a was purchased, the next priority that was passed in 2006 is Honoli`i. Ms. Garcia asked Mr. Yada on some of the County's concerns in regards to management. Mr. Yada replied that there was some discussion on what Ms. Debbie Hecht suggested but no real consensus was made. Ms. Garcia then mentioned that the committee will have to look for other funding sources for maintenance and management. OFFICE OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL'S REPORT Ms. Springer noted that Deputy Corporation Counsel Amy Self is unavailable and therefore deferred this report. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Ms. Springer welcomed Ms. Markovich to the Commission and had nothing further to report. COMMITTEE REPORT Mr. Campbell mentioned that Ms. Debbie Hecht and some others are working on creating a bond initiative proposal to use some of the 2% funds to leverage 100 million dollars in bonds. The taxpayers would need to vote on it and as the funds are used they would be billed a very minimal amount. Ms. Springer asked if that initiative will be presented to the public for the 2008 election season. Mr. Campbell replied yes. Ms. Garcia asked if the funds could be used for management and maintenance. Mr. Campbell replied that it could be used for management, plans, acquisition, etc. Ms. Springer asked Mr. Yada to share his insight on how the 2% fund could be used for leveraging. Mr. Yada mentioned that he's not sure how much of the fund would be committed for 100 million dollars. He further noted that issuing that much bonds could affect the County rating in general along with higher interest rates of all County bonds. Ms. Springer stressed that this is a fairly complex matter and the committee needs to bring forth more specificity. Mr. Flores stressed that he doesn't think the 2% fund can be used to leverage bonds since the County Code is specific to how the monies can be used. He added that he would like to see the -3-