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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0109.001 2020-2022 P/GMiX COMM.101 COUNTY CLERK Testimony re: Communication log COUNTY OF HAWAII RECEIVED Kilauea Eruption Recovery Team updateTiae_ILI�. . Byde Feb. 16, 2021 Date FEB 1 5 2021 Committee on Government Operations, Relations, and Economic Development I want to thank Ashley Kierkiewicz for seeking a Kilauea Recovery and Resilience Plan update. With the new mayoral administration at the helm, it is timely to seek out an update. After all, the Kilauea Recovery and Resilience Plan has been posted on the recovery website, and there are near-term goals of facilitating projects and efforts that provide relief to residents and businesses. It's about time that the public gets a timeline of specifically what and when the projects and efforts will get underway. I'm speaking today as a resident of lower Puna who lost a family home in Kapoho in the 2018 eruption. I'm speaking as a small business owner in Pahoa that has suffered from economic depression in the wake of the eruption and covid- 19. I'm also speaking as an individual who has been devastated by the loss of all of recreation spots in the Puna area as a result of the lava flow. I'm speaking as an educator who personally knows countless children and their families who have been traumatized by this eruption and, at the very least, seek recreational access. I'm speaking as someone who has been traumatized to the core of my being by the Kilauea eruption. For the last two years, I have reoccurring nightmares of frantically digging down in the rubble to find lost family heirlooms or driving down any and all routes back to Kapoho, only to face a wall of lava rock with each route taken. Comm No Ref.ToCJ 1 : Date FEB 1 6 2021 I wou ngive anything to float on my back in the sun-heated - waters'of-the' Wai"-Opae tidepools, or to surf "Shacks" again.-I miss my home in Vacationland and many of the belongings we were forced to leave behind. But what I miss more than my home itself is my surrounding coastal neighborhood and the beach park down the road. I miss having access to the ocean in Puna. I miss being able to safely get into the water on this coastline. For those of us who cling to life on this island with five volcanoes, we learn how to be individually resilient. But what I have learned through this firsthand experience of an eruption is the resilience of a community. As I try to settle into a newly built home in another subdivision here in Puna, I see how this other community association works against itself on so many different fronts, due to a lack of unity. What a lot of people don't realize is that even though we lost our neighborhood, our Kapoho community is very much alive, organized, and unified. We meet regularly and, despite our political, socio-economic and spiritual differences, we are committed to a common goal: we want to see our roads and infrastructure restored. We want to gain access to our properties. For me, it's about healing. I need to stand on top of the rubble and imagine my living room set, my dining table, the dinner plates, pots and pans, the crystal, the books, the paintings — everything I couldn't grab when the sirens came through and the HPD loud speaker ordered me to evacuate. I need to pitch a tent and sleep out there, to see the star- filled night sky, to watch the sun rise, and set from that vantage point again. I need this to fill the void that was left when the lava wiped out our homes and filled in every _ __ _ 2 fishing hole, swim spot, and surf break. I know that if I need this, others in my community need this too. Still, there are others from Kapoho who have land that was spared by lava; they even have structures that are awaiting them. They and we all should be able to access our properties. Please advocate for them. We in Kapoho and the greater Puna community need access to the shoreline. We have to reclaim as much coastal access in Puna as those obtained FEMA funds will allow. I come here today, seeking the Council's advocacy for Puna. I ask that you immediately restore Highway 137 and Kapoho Kai Drive — all the way to the shoreline. I ask for you to urge the Department of Water Supply to restore the water lines in Kapoho and Pohoiki. I ask that you urge the state to dredge Pohoiki and allow for our fishermen to be able to launch their boats from there. Imagine trying to be a Puna fisherman having to commute to Hilo to launch your boat. The time, the expense, and the psychic drain must be intense. I feel a sense of urgency to alleviate their suffering. I hope you do too. Please advocate for them. Please advocate for all of us who need to see our public roads, water and coastal resources restored. And please keep us informed. The lack of transparency, openness, and regular updates from the previous administration has been salt to our wounds. Mahalo. Respectfully submitted, Tiffany Edwards Hunt Kea`au, HL 3