Comm No 0003.01.19 - Testimony - Ad Hoc - PONC fund and Maintenance fund

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November 9, 2018 0OUNTY CLERK COUNTY OF HAWAII 1018 NOV -9 PI1 1 08 Aloha kakou, My name is Deborah Ward. I am chair of Sierra Club Moku Loa Group, and 1 have worked with the 2% Land Fund and collected signatures in 2006 and helped to pass it at the polls. When Mayor Billy Kenol suspended deposits to the fund in December when he took office we realized we needed a charter amendment that could only be undone by a vote of the people. In 2010 we lobbied the Charter commission to put it on the ballot at 2% but they only put it on at 1 %. We got that approved with 63% of voters. We lobbied the County Council to return it to the ballot in 2012 and once again 63% of voters approved the ballot measure. 1 ask you to honor all of the hard work that we have all put in for the last 13 years and more. During the last six years Sierra Club worked with the Ka'u community and fishermen to acquire the Kahuku property commonly known as Road to the Sea. We have motivated community members eager to utilize the Maintenance Fund to protect, educate and preserve these important lands. It is a slow process, and without the funds from the county we could never have aligned with USFWS and Legacy Lands to make the purchase possible. • Why am 1 here today? • WE ASK you to strengthen the 2% Land fund. • Don't reduce the amount and don't put a cap! • Strengthen it by adding Hawaii County Senior staff that would concentrate on the administration of the 2% Land fund and the 14% Administration found and actually get the money spent. The salary could be paid out of the 2% Land Fund, • This is would create an alt win situation: Only 14 of the 180 proposed lands have been acquired. With dedicated staff, more of these lands could be acquired. • Pay Finance staff with the Fund! This would actually reduce the County salaried employees in the Department of Finance Already the National Park Service Ala Kahakai Historic Trail is helping to manage these lands. A 175 long Ala Kahakai Trail would attract eco -tourists which are Tight on the land for multiple trips to hike this coastal island trail, Communities are built around these acquisitions, Open Space and parklands preserves the beauty of our island and supports tourism. Communities come together around our treasured lands. If we had paid staff concentrating on the 2% Land Fund and the 1/2% Maintenance Fund: More of the Maintenance funds could be placed in the hands of non-profit organizations who are the proposers of these properties and the stewards in their communities. Please we ask you, listen to what 63% of voters have said 3 times -- support the Land Fund, preserve our treasured lands that make Hawaii County one of the most beautiful places in the world. Comm. No. 3.1.19