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

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competing budget priorities. But the voters and taxpayers of Hawaii County have repeatedly re- affirmed that land protection and conservation is a very high priority. The Trust for Public Land opposes reducing the maintenance fund amount. Interviewing applicants for maintenance funds would have been helpful in understanding how difficult the application process is for maintenance funds – while the use of public funds should always be monitored and best practices followed, the County process needs to be simplified. Applicants, who are unpaid volunteers, should not be put through trial-like cross examinations. The process as it currently stands does not encourage groups to apply. The Trust for Public Land opposes changes to Section 10-16 of the Charter that would expand use of the maintenance fund to large capital projects such as buildings, roads, and restrooms. The voters who approved this provision clearly intended, as stated in Section 10-16(g), that these types of larger expenditures should be handled by the County in the capital improvement budget or via the general fund. A single large capital improvement, such as road, could easily drain the entire annual fund for maintenance/stewardship. This provision was intended to give grass roots community groups an opportunity to take ownership in the lands protected and apply for stewardship grants to foster community ‘ina based stewardship. That said, The Trust for Public Land would support expanding the uses of the maintenance fund for smaller projects that would not drain the fund and support community stewardship – e.g., educational buildings/facilities, sheds for storage of equipment, portable restrooms for remote locations. The Trust for Public Land opposes removing the protective covenant. This could affect the County’s ability to secure matching funding, which accounts for approximately one-third of the County’s funding to date. Further research would be required to determine if it would be permissible to allow transfer of the protected to land to qualified partners like the National Park Service, the State, or land trusts like the Nature Conservancy or the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust, subject to permanent restrictions preventing development that run with the land. The Trust for Public Land supports the Ad Hoc Committee and PONC Commission’s recommendation that dedicated full-time staff is needed to support PONC’s work. PONC has accomplished incredible conservation work. The Trust for Public Land is eager to work with PONC to help leverage other funding – federal, state, and private – to stretch PONC dollars further and to have a greater impact. Recently, The Trust for Public Land assisted the State of Hawaii in acquiring 2,900 former pineapple lands in Central Oahu for over $15.1 million – only $1.5 million of those funds were State funds. The Trust for Public Land hopes that it use its national expertise in land conservation to assist the County of Hawaii in meeting its conservation and preservation goals. The Trust for Public Land also supports The PONC Commission’s recommendation that jurisdiction/administration of PONC be moved from the Department of Parks & Recreation to the Department of Finance. Mahalo for this opportunity to testify. Unfortunately, we will not be able to testify in person due to scheduling conflicts. Mahalo – Lea Hong State Director Edmund C. Olson Trust Fellow