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Kohanaihi' 'Ohana
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P.O. Box 4753 __._i
Kaiiva-Kona,Hawaii 96745
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aloha Mina
July 19, 2022
Finance Committee Chair Kanealii-Kleinfelder c/oco
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counciltestimony cx hawaiicount ov
RE: RESOLUTION 446-22 j
Good Morning Chair Kanealii Kleinfelder and Members of the Finance Committee,
My name is Karen Eoff....My husband Gary, and I, along with former councilmember Angel Pilago
and his wife Nita, current councilmember Rebecca Villegas, and many other distinguished members
of the Kona community were among the founding members of the Kohanaiki 'Ghana back in 1990.
In 1995 we incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to enrich the social
understanding and appreciation of Hawaii's native culture and environments and to protect the
natural and cultural resources and historic treasures along the Kohanaiki and '0'oma coastline on the
west coast of Hawai'i Island.
In 2013, after years of struggles, land-use hearings, court victories and negotiations, approximately
100 acres of shoreline was dedicated to the County creating the Kohanaiki Shoreline Park. And later
that same year, the County purchased the conservation lands of the adjoining 'O'oma parcel utilizing
funds from the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund totaling over 200
acres.
The 2013 purchase of'0'oma with PONC funds was the culmination of over 25 years of efforts on the
part of the Kohanaiki 'Ohana and the Kona community. The 'Ohana is dedicated to restoring the
strand vegetation and native flora and fauna at O'oma and to promoting community stewardship and
sustainability through respect for the people, the land and the sea.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources
Commission (PONC) and Parks and Rec for their work, and for their positive recommendation of our
grant request; councilmember Inaba for bringing this resolution forward; and the Finance
Department for working on the contracts for this, and the other Stewardship Grants awarded from
the Maintenance Fund to help take care of our valuable open spaces. Mahalo!
Karen Eoff for
Kohanaiki 'Ghana
Comm. No.
Ref.To: P I
Ref. (Date 2022