Comm No 0021.016 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fund

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HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSION H A W A I ‘ I 1:30 P.M., DECEMBER 13, 2018 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HawaiI 96720 Hawaii County Building, Room 1401, Council Chambers Aloha Chair Adams and Commission Members: tpl.org The Trust for Public Land, in general, opposes advancing CA-7 for initial approval. The Trust for Public Land was originally involved in and supported the creation of the PONC ADVISORY BOARD fund through its 501(c)(4) organization, the Conservation Campaign. The Trust for Brad Punu, Chair Public Land thanks the staff of the PONC 2% fund and the volunteers who serve on the PONC Commission for their hard work in advancing the wishes of the voters of Hawaii Earlynne Maile, Vice Chair County who voted for the 2% Fund. Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli We appreciate the work of the Ad Hoc Committee in reviewing Charter provisions that Stanford S. Carr established the 2% fund, but recommend that more work and analysis be completed – interviewing the staff of the 2% fund, the volunteers of the PONC commission, the Mahina Duarte groups who have applied is maintenance/management funding, and other stakeholders with special expertise in land conservation such as The Trust for Public Land, The Nature K‘eo Duarte Conservancy, and The Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. Steve Kelly As discussed below, The Trust for Public Land in general opposes initial approval of CA- 7.Specifically, Mark Linscott Kurt Matsumoto The Trust for Public Land opposes reductions to land acquisition fund amount and opposes capping the amount. Land is very expensive in Hawaii and where Edmund C. Olson opportunities arise where land that the community wants to preserve is available for sale, the County needs to be prepared to act. If the fund’s balances had not Gregory C. Pietsch built up, it would never have been able to purchase the seven Kaiholena parcels in North Kohaala for $10.5 million. The Trust for Public Land works with Kirstin Punu conservation partners throughout the nation to conserve land. A steady source of funding is necessary to build up sufficient capital to quickly move on significant Gregg H. Takara properties that the community wants to protect. We know from working with Race Randle Kauai County, which has a lower percentage for its open space fund, that it takes many years for the fund to build up enough money to purchase land or contribute Tom Reeve to a purchase of land that the community wants very badly to preserve. Landowners are not willing to wait for the fund’s reserves to build up and Michael S. Spalding opportunities for conservation have been lost. The Trust for Public Land also understands that there are competing budgetary priorities. There will always be Carol Wilcox