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Mamo o KANO <br />P.O. Box 45. Pahala HI 96777 <br />Chairman Douglas Shipman Adams and Hawai'i County Charter Commissioners <br />Subject: Charter Amendment 18 <br />Dear Chairman Adams and Charter Commissioners: <br />We, Na Mamo o Kawa ("NMOK"), support Charter Amendment 18 ("CA - 18"). CA - 18 <br />proposes to: (1) transfer responsibility of administering the Public Access Open Space and Natural <br />Preservation ("PONC") Maintenance Fund from the Elawai`i County Department of Parks and <br />Recreation to the Department of Finance, (2) allow for the building, renting, leasing, and installing of <br />restroom facilities, (3) allow for the building, installing, and maintenance of small structures for <br />education and/or storage purposes, and (4) allow, if approved as part of a business plan, for board <br />members, officers, and employees to receive a salary or payment for labor and/or services. <br />Over the past two years, the PONC Maintenance Fund supports NMOK's community <br />stewardship and maintenance activities. NMOK is grateful for the support as we maintain the Kawa <br />property, implement the NMOK Dry Forest and Coastal Rehabilitation Project, and complete the <br />NMOK Spring Restoration Project. Although NMOK has received stewardship grants through the <br />PONC Maintenance Fund, the process is fraught with delays in funds disbursement and gaps between <br />grant cycles. These issues place a financial strain on our organization complicating our ability to <br />fully perform our maintenance duties on the Kawa property. <br />NMOK supports the use of PONC Maintenance Funds for appropriate restroom facilities and <br />structures for educational and storage purposes. The Kawa property is approximately 775 acres and <br />there are only two portable toilets located at the Northern entrance off of Highway 11. These <br />restrooms are situated almost half a mile away from the property's most used areas. NMOK has <br />Comm. No. 35.26 <br />