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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0102.001 2020-2022 Council r1.5q-21 cow.102 COUNTY Puna Wastewater Statement Resolution 39-21 M1 FEB —2 PH ?= 2L Attention: Hawai'i County Council I'm generally supportive of this resolution calling for, among other things, a Puna Wastewater Statement"to conduct a comprehensive Programmatic Environmental Study." The Puna Community Development Plan calls for"public financial support for the development of utility and potable water connections, and wastewater treatment facilities within approved village/town centers where they are." With regard to the resolution before you, I find it problematic that we don't have any definitive facts about this planned "comprehensive programmatic environmental study" that is referenced.As it stands,we don't know exactly how much of Puna this study will cover. There are a number of"approved village/town centers"represented in our community development plan...And it should be noted that this resolution references, not just the Puna Wastewater Statement, a North Kona Sewage Pump Station and Force Main Project. What is the breakdown of costs associated with these referenced projects? How much is going for what?All I read is a general statement that we the County will be entering into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce and Economic Development Administration for funds"in connections with projects being or to be undertaken..." So, we in Puna want to know what's happening. All we have to go on is a bungled press release that came out of U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz's office, presumably referencing this pending resolution.The headline to this Jan. 22 press release read, "$2.25 million headed to Hilo to help Kilauea Recovery, Improve Resiliency,"and let me underline for emphasis "Hilo"and "Kilauea Recovery." I thought those were typos, but then I read through the body of the press release and found it to be equally problematic in its inaccuracies. The first paragraph claimed this would help Hilo recover from the 2018 Kilauea eruption. The second paragraph claimed the grant would be toward "rebuilding the area's wastewater collection and treatment system,which was damaged in 2018." I'm not sure what wastewater collection and treatment system is being referenced here, but it sure wasn't in Puna! Are you scratching your heads yet? I'll keep quoting from the Schatz release: "By funding the creation of a new, centralized system—instead of repairing the previous cesspool system,these funds will help the community recover in a cleaner and safer way." "This grant will help create a centralized waste treatment system that's safer for Hilo families and improves the resiliency of the community," Sen. Schatz is quoted as saying. "As we recover from the 2018 natural disasters, we'll keep fighting for more federal funding at every opportunity so we can rebuild stronger than before." Comm. No. 1011 Ref.To: P GUunci 1 1 Ref. Date FEB e 3 2021 The only seemingly factual bit of information in that release was this,the source of the funding: "This grant comes from the Economic Adjustment Assistance program, administered by the Economic Development Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce." That I can tell, nothing came out of any of your offices trying to correct the public record. Nothing came from the Mayoral Administration trying to correct this release. And that was disseminated two weeks ago! How many public information officers are on staff at the County of Hawaii? You would think somebody would try to chase this down and clean it up. I think it's fair to say that the public has a right to know to receive good, factual information. And it's your obligation as public officials to see that we get it. I sure hope that we can correct the public record today and make it very clear exactly how much money will be going to Puna and how much will be going to Kona. I hope that it can be made very clear for Schatz's office and for anyone who received his Jan. 22 press release, that these are not headed to Hilo, except to pass through the Environmental Management office, and these should not be considered recovery funds. Please note that the people of Puna are eager to know EVERY SINGLE PENNY that is spent claiming to be associated with the recovery effort and/or the 2018 Kilauea eruption. You put the public on high alert when you use the term "recovery." When you infer that federal funds are somehow associated with recovery, when you suggest that Hilo is going to receive recovery funds and Puna will be bypassed, you infuriate people. The other point that I would like to make is that, if this study actually gets fully funded, let's just not shelf this study after it's complete. Let's use this to proceed with other critical projects that the Puna CDP outlines are necessary for Puna's revival and, dare I say it in the context of this resolution, "recovery." We need our Puna Community Medical Center to be expanded beyond the Pahoa Marketplace. We need our connector roads in Pahoa to be put in place, as you allow for the expansion of the urban footprint there. We need our next phase of the Pahoa Regional Park. We need our Highway 137 complete. We need our Pohoiki boat ramp. We need our regional town center in Kea'au to be developed. We need our town and neighborhood centers to be developed too. We have incredible NEEDS in Puna as a result of poor planning in the past. We definitely don't need a grant-funded study that once completed, gets shelved. The previous administration that presumably pursued this grant was not known for being transparent and open. Departments worked in silos, information was provided on an as- needed basis, and that frustrated everyone, you included. I ask that you, as the legislative branch of government, advocate for the public's right to know. In this case, we hope to know more about Environmental Management's plan for this grant and for what is the grand plan beyond this study. Thank you so much. •..._ _. 'tfi .f v, . 2 fx6+ . P With sincerest aloha, Tiffany Edwards Hunt Kea'au, HI 3