MIN CHARTER 2018-11-09 (2018-2020)

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission -5 November 9, 2018 CHR. ADAMS: Thank you. Again I would ask you to provide your names, identify the agenda items that you are speaking to, and acknowledge that you have three minutes per agenda item. Thank you. Rick Warshauer: Communication No. 3.1.1, in opposition and commenting. RICK WARSHAUER: MR. WARSHAUER: My name is Rick Warshauer. I am a long time resident of Volcano. I have spent most of my life on the Big Island but I grew up on three different islands. Since that time I have seen huge changes in the landscape and the special places on all of them. CHR. ADAMS: Sir, if you could, sir, the agenda item you are speaking to please. MR. WARSHAUER: I am talking primarily on the PONC. I have a comment on another one later. Sorry. These changes have happened because of one of our largest industries chopping up the aina and selling it off to people from somewhere else. The PONC has risen in response on this island to those trends and it is the public's way of identifying areas that they feel are very special to them and a process for acquiring them for public purposes. This is really important to balance out the loss of our `aina that is going on wholesale. I oppose some of the changes that are proposed by the Charter Commission and would like to address several of them. One of them is removing the protective deed restrictions. The prospects of having permanence to the land that is acquired allows us to have shared funding from other sources. It also allows us to have partners from the community to help in the management. I serve on both the PONC and on the State's equivalent Legacy Lands, but I am not speaking for them. But in those positions, I have seen the importance of having shared funding and how the cooperative efforts of all of the parties in gathering the land for permanent protection enhances the ability of whatever funds you have to be leveraged for more acquisition capacity. Do not take that away. It will just pull the rug out from under it. I also oppose the cap on the PONC Fund and I strongly oppose the reduction of the two percent funding amount and a reduction of the maintenance fund. The maintenance fund is a crucial element and I strongly support using those funds to enhance the management of the landscape. These lands are coming without dedicated funds. MS. MURAMOTO: You have 30 seconds. MR. WARSHAUER: And it is good to have the PONC funds directed towards management of the land. I also strongly encourage the use of PONC funds to hire permanent staff dedicated to operating the fund and Page 10