Comm No 0021.053 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fund

Home

From: melloke@hawaii.rr.com Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2019 10:12 PM To: Charter Commission Subject: Charter Amendment 7 - Please vote NO on Communication 21 Thursday, January 10, 2019 Dear Charter Commission Members, I am writing to you as president of Friends of Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook, South Kona. I am also writing as a life long island resident who has consistently supported the purpose of the PONC fund since its inception. I have voted to maintain it when the County has seen fit to ask our island's voters on more than one occasion if they still felt that the PONC fund was a good use of tax payer dollars. I wholly support keeping the Land Fund at 2% and continuing to withhold .25% to ensure the Maintenance Fund has sufficient financial resources to fulfill its purpose as a major contributor to the overall success of protected lands. PONC is exactly what local government should protect, not repeatedly raid as a stop gap method of balancing the budget. Our non-profit organization has applied to PONC for a Conservation Easement to protect an island treasure, Kona's own Hawaiian ethnobotanical garden. The Bishop Museum decided in 2016 that it could no longer afford to own the Garden. Galvanized into action by this disaster, our community founded a non-profit organization that has managed to raise $1.4 million to purchase the Garden in fee simple and hold it forever for the children of the future. We are presently second on PONC's list of lands that deserve to be protected. We are not asking the County to pay the lion's share of the purchase price. Between our State Legacy Land grant of $750,000.00 and the Federal Forest Grant of $550,000.00, and private donations, we feel confident in our ability cover the vast majority of the purchase price for the Garden. However, the Friends welcome the opportunity the PONC fund has offered us for the Garden's permanent protection, having experienced first hand how financial distress can negatively affect a cultural treasure. It will be three years this month that the Garden's gates have been closed to residents and visitors alike, adversely impacting our community and detracting from its cultural and botanical richness. PONC's funds have been set aside for a truly noble and just cause, the protection of land for the people of our County. After the destruction of Puna by the recent eruption, it would seem that the need for PONC is greater than ever. How better to address the needs of residents most affected by the loss of their landscapes than by establishing new public lands for recreation and permanent beauty. Sincerely, 1 Comm. No. 21.53